i've been bitten by the bug ...

[headandhand]

WHO: Open to all residents
WHAT: Inoculation Season, plus your regular monthly NAPs session
WHERE: Throughout the city, with NAPs held at The Ax Hole.
WHEN: Sept. 10-30 for plague shots and associated side effects; Sept. 10-14 for NAPs
WARNINGS: Please use if applicable!

So tell me, what do you prescribe for these symptoms?

Remember that awful plague that wiped out the city's entire original population? You know, the entire reason you've been brought here? Well, the medical science community of Dualis has been hard at work concocting a cure for as long as anyone can remember, with minimal results. But during the morning of the 10th, news of a breakthrough is announced is a special city-wide bulletin. All media channels are overtaken with this message, and alerts hit every citizen's phone. The best part? Science needs your help!

There's no formal approval process for new vaccines and medications, just a series of volunteer trials before it's determined whether what's being tested is effective. All residents are invited to participate in these trials, with a bonus of 200 extra duos as compensation for their time and possible suffering. Simply head down to your nearest MedDualis clinic and inform the MedDroids supervising that you're reporting for your civic duty. Participants will be given a quick, easy, and practically painless inoculation shot in the arm, and will walk out the door 200 duos richer. Neat, huh?

Participants will be warned that like all experimental drugs, there may be side effects. A non-comprehensive list of those possible side effects includes: minor appearance changes (hair/skin/eye color), enhancing or reducing senses (smell, taste, hearing, sight, etc.), sudden mild development of extranormal abilities (telepathy, super strength, super speed, etc.), the ability to share dreams (if you're not tired of that sorta thing after last month), and/or loss of control over abilities you already possess, or those abilities misfiring. Hey, at least death isn't included on this list!

Any intrepid Dualizen who comes down with a case of weirdness as a result of doing their civic duty will find that weirdness will wear off by the end of the month. The Head thanks you for your sacrifice!

Don't you feel the fever like I do?

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?!

This month’s event is held at an exciting new establishment called The Ax Hole! The 'Hole is an indoor ax-throwing range plus bar plus mid-price grill-type restaurant, the first of its kind to find a home here in Dualis. You must be at least 18 to drink and/or throw axes, and if you are throwing axes, there is a limit of one drink per hour. The bartenders are very strict about enforcing this rule, and employees are available to give safety instructions on proper ax-throwing technique and supervise activities.

This is a family-friendly establishment, so anyone under 18 is welcome in the restaurant section and the viewing room between the restaurant and range to watch the ax-throwing action, but they are absolutely not allowed inside the range, even just to watch. In fact, anyone who wishes admittance to the range must sign a waiver stating that they understand the risks of participating and agree to hold the Ax Hole free of liability in the event of any accidents that cause injury or death.

If that hasn't scared you off yet, come on down and meet your new neighbors! Oh, and do try to exit with at least as many fingers and limbs as when you entered, OK?

Comments

[mrsarcastic003]

He nods again, filing that away. That's a place to start looking, though he'll probably have to be careful about asking. Turning up one day and saying "hey, have you noticed any detonators missing lately? Asking for a friend" is probably not going to net him positive results.

He grimaces slightly when Hank remarks on his reputation. He understands the sentiment. "Yeah, home is... a lot different. There's a lot more trust in masked vigilantes than there is here."

Being a vigilante in a world where the previous generations hadn't paved the way is interesting to say the least.

[punchpunchkisskiss]

"Uhh..." How can he explain this?

"They're like my spirit bros, from a past life." There. Those were some words.

[skyward_eyes]

Spirit, that Nida gets. And even ones that from outside of your own life makes sense. And the question is...

"Why would butterflies be from your past life?"

[punchpunchkisskiss]

That's a fair question, probably.

"'Cause I was a butterfly in a past life."

[chaosvessel]

He moved nearer the glass, watching in silence for a moment, crossing his arms thoughtfully before making a sound something like a slight grunt.

"Axes and guns are very different."

[morethanatrickster]

He shook his head. "Not at all. Most often, you laughed along with me. I don't know if it was for his own pride or...genuine amusement, truth be told." It was a question he'd never posed to himself, either, and he found the idea, the question, unsettling by principle alone. After a moment, he decided he didn't want to know, and chose to move on from it.

"I do not. Should I?" A much safer, at least he hoped, topic of conversation.

[morethanatrickster]

He heaved a sigh, rolling his eyes before turning to face the table, taking the napkin serving as his coaster and rolling it loosely into a tube. "Imagine for a moment this napkin is a prone human body."

He raised a hand and a flash of greenish energy surrounded it for a moment, and then under the napkin appeared what looked to be a small bed with a frame raising around it, then a fluttering, semi-transparent barrier erected between the raised frame. "This is a replica of the soul forge. Within the field," and the illusion followed his direction, the image shifting to mirror what he said, "the body is projected in a semi-transparent hologram above itself. This hologram will highlight any defective or ill areas and can be manipulated. When those fields are changed, the area within the source body is also repaired. You see?"

[hellofishies]

"Not a habit." She shrugged. "I've had a lot of those but not this." It was something others had told her that maybe she shouldn't do. Not that she ever actually listened to them. Maybe they should have. "Sometimes I don't notice."

[sociallychallenged]

"Back home I wouldn't be a fan of 'em but here? I trust human judgment over the iterations any day." Human, give or take. "This world could use more of them." And he wonders if he could give them some more power. Maybe when he's promoted. He thinks higher ranking cops have some minimal power over stopping the iterations.

"I say that even knowing some of the cops I know, and some of the fucking shitty 'militia' men that think they're doing justice. The people here? They're different. Most of 'em are reasonable. They don't see the answer as 'shutting down a threat'. You can talk them down. Or yeah, I guess tase the shit out of 'em but I'd prefer to save that for the people with the weapons and not the panicked wounded and fucking mentally ill."

Maybe he's sort of bitter with how he rushed to get Jane out of the way of the iterations.

[morethanatrickster]

"How convenient." He laughed, an edge of bitterness to the sound. "It's as though it's all a front for something else. Such a surprise."

And an inconvenience. Oh yes, they were allies now, at least until such time it was beneficial to be otherwise. "Are there guns to be found here? My magic, since arriving, has proven...unreliable. Perhaps it's a byproduct of the transfer." Or his death, but that needn't be discussed.

cw: the vaguest of vague mentions of suicidal ideation

[sociallychallenged]

"I came in with my regulation pistol, but I didn't have a lotta ammo for it. I did buy another gun while here. A revolver." One he perhaps shouldn't have. But now he knows the uselessness of death in this place.

"I don't think you're gonna find any sort of automatic beyond a pistol. There are magical tattoos and items you can probably rig yourself up with. I know this one guy who got one so he could make fire. Better they are? The more they cost."

Which he's sure seems obvious.

"What could you do before?" He asks curiously, taking a drink of his beer. "Magic isn't much of a thing where I'm from. Still fuckin' blows my mind to hear about it."

[helpdesk_hero]

Interesting. David stares, clearly impressed.

"So effectively it's a field of energy that allows a trained professional to act like a biokinetic healer? Does it use magic, or does it interface with the body and affect it on a molecular level? Do you know how such devices are created? Is this unique to Asgard or do all sufficiently advanced races have variations upon this concept?"

Oh yes, David is fully captivated by the concept. This, if existed on Earth, would be able to cure cancer and other major diseases. If only he understood how it worked, or could touch one. He could... he could help Earth so much.

[skyward_eyes]

Okay, brain broken. Still David stares at him, because what?

"You were a butterfly. Previously. IN a life before this one? How... do you remember?"

[punchpunchkisskiss]

Finn shrugs. It doesn't seem like it should be that big a deal.

"Jake made me open up my mental vault a while ago and I just sort of remembered."

[soundspeed]

[pietro drums his fingers on the table a few times, then stops and folds his arms across his chest.]

Ah, you managed to pay attention. Shall I pretend to be impressed about this?

[helpdesk_hero]

Hardly. I don't expect you to be impressed. Still, I'm intrigued. Do you mind if I ask you a few quick questions?

[Won't be quick enough, but they guy doesn't seem like he's actually going to leave yet, so he's going to take advantage of what he can get.]

For instance, does the term 'mutant' mean anything to you?

[skyward_eyes]

That... none of those words make anything resembling sense.

"And this Jake is, what, magic?"

Please help, Nida is flailing here. Mentally. Visibly he just looks confused.

[punchpunchkisskiss]

"Yeah, he is!" How did Nida know? "But mostly he's my brother."

[really_sketchy]

"Do you shoot guns?" Naminés head canted curiously to the side. She didn't know a lot about these kinds of things or what Vincent was accustomed too. He looked like a fighter, like someone she knew from one of Sora's memories.

"Would I be able to see?"

[minus1twin]

"No." Wanda shook her head. "But I know your brother and I have heard of you." There weren't many people on Earth who hadn't heard of Loki though Wanda's particular point of view was skewed in a way.

"I have some experience with the Mind Stone." She lifted her hand and red mist sparked between her fingers. "It gave me this. From what I know, you're the person to go to who could help me learn more." That wasn't he whole of it but Wanda was far from judging people for past mistakes.

"If you're interested that is." She had lost her powers in the village and gained them back again here. They were different, weaker in a way, but she wanted to train with them again.

[soundspeed]

Hey now, it's not Pietro's fault that he has a default tone that leans more toward the sarcastic than not. But something about Jane's touchiness unconsciously reminds Pietro of himself, and his amusement at her volatility matches up to how unamused she is.

"I already answered your question," he says, holding back a laugh behind a slight smirk. "And if I were to make fun of you, it wouldn't be like this."

[soundspeed]

Pietro makes a quiet sound of disgruntlement. "You're asking questions anyway, regardless of whether I mind it." But he's stuck at this weird compulsory game of getting to know new people, so he may as well answer, though no one said he had to so willingly. He sighs and shakes his head.

"Not really. What does it mean to you?"

God, this month sucked. I am so sorry for the slow

[waypastasking]

Steve waited, nerves swooping slightly. He couldn't remember the last time he was Nervous. The sudden opening of the door startled Steve out of his thoughts and he shook his head. "Steve, actually," He said. "Steve Rogers and I was assigned here."

[skyward_eyes]

He was making a joke. Oh dear he's got a headache coming on.

"Your brother is magic?"

Now his chest hurts. Because he misses his own pair of sometimes moronic guy and his magic brother. But he has to push past that.

"Well, uh, I'm sorry he isn't here?"

[mrsarcastic003]

He smiles a little. He knows plenty of cops back home who aren't a fan of vigilantes either, despite the good many of them do. He can't really blame them either. They do operate outside of the law. It's not an easy relationship, even when everyone's getting along.

"Sounds like it's been an interesting ride for you here--and maybe not all the good kind of interesting."