dualislogs | i've been bitten by the bug ...

i've been bitten by the bug ...

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?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Arival/Around]
Steve was not unfamiliar with the feeling of waking up in a strange place not having his bearings or any sense of place for a while as he acclimates to new sites and sounds.

He eventually finds his way to the dorms, thanks in part to the guidance that the Head provided. He gave himself a headache thinking about a being such as the Head, so he shook his head trying to clear the fog before knocking on the door to his room.

[NAPS]

Steve tapped his fingers on the table in front of him, fussing with the plaid shirt that he wore. Whoever thought up this idea of welcoming people obviously didn't know him that well. He didn't do this kind of thing, ever... Well, that might be a lie, he did kind of have a life after the ice, just not much of one. He hadn't lied to Natasha when he said that wasn't his first kiss since 1945, but dating wasn't a priority. It still isn't, if he's honest, but when in Rome.

He looked up at the person seated across from him, smiling. "So, do you have any hobbies?" He almost audibly groaned because that sounded lame to even his ears. Natasha would be laughing for sure. He relaxed slightly at the thought, however, glancing at his companion again.

"That's what we are supposed to do right?"

[Injection, jection what's your fection]

Steve stood in line to get his shot like the good little soldier he is or was, depending on your point of view he thought. Kind of reminded him of the good ole days, back when waiting for bread, when there was money for bread or Steve wasn't sick. If he could help people then he would be more than happy to wait all day if he had to.

He wished he would have thought to bring a crossword.

Edited 2019-09-10 23:38 (UTC)

Ah, another familiar face. The world seemed to be filling with them lately, or filling enough for David to start accepting that there were people here that looked a lot like people from home. Wanda had been the first he'd known for certain. And now he was forcing himself to get used to what was happening.

In this case, him sitting down across from Captain Steve Rogers, the Captain America himself. Interesting. But the man wouldn't know him from anyone, probably not even back home, so he sees no reason to make it awkward.

"Yes, you're doing this right. Hobbies have never been a strong point of mine," he admits as he takes out a menu to check if there were any small finger foods he could order and eat. The shifts at work were very very long, but not very many in a week, and he was coming to today's session a bit tired. Should have held out for another day.

"I used to be a figure skater, if you consider that a hobby."

David was right about that, Steve didn't recognize the man in front of him but that didn't stop Steve from being polite. He couldn't help but shift under the silent scrutiny. It wasn't that Steve hadn't been under a microscope before and it still made him nervous.

"Figure Skating? Really? My Ma used to take me to the park when I wasn't sick to watch the skaters. I think it's great. I draw, not that you asked, but it keeps my hands busy."

"You draw?" Well David is genuinely surprised by that, but it is a pleasant one. He'll admit that he isn't as up on Avengers as he is on other people.

"The figure skating was nice. And being from Chicago and with grandparents out in the 'burbs it was easy to find plenty of rinks and even places out in general to enjoy it. But drawing would be nice. Having something you could do all year."

"I do," Steve said, looking around for a napkin. He found one and grabbed it, scratching on for a few minutes. He listened while he drew. Steve looked up, sliding the napkin towards David.

It would show a caricature of David, figure-skating, rudimentary but legible.

"Can't you skate inside?"

Wow. There's a serious possibility that David's never had anyone draw him before. And it makes him smile, soft and fond as he pulls it closer.

"Can I keep this? I'd really like to. And yeah, you can, but I only did rinks when I was training or competing. I like outdoor skating more for fun."

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waypastasking - 2019-10-01 03:04 (UTC) - Expand

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helpdesk_hero - 2019-10-01 12:43 (UTC) - Expand

"Something like that."

The man sat across from Steve is a giant, close enough to seven feet in height that the difference is largely academic and built like a brick wall. His heavily muscled arms are covered with tattoos - some of them symbols, some of them words written out in runes. He's scowling, but that expression has been sitting on his face long enough that it's fairly clear that's just his resting expression rather than any overt sign of irritation or hostility.

"Talk." Aleifr punctuates the brief sentence by taking a swig of the drink he's nursing. "Get to know each other. Things of that nature."

Doesn't sound particularly enthused about it -- there's a sort of ho-hum weariness to his words -- but he's here.

Steve isn't the type of guy to be intimidated but the man sitting was huge compared to himself, so he took a slow sip of his beer.

"You're not much of a talker, are you?" Steve said politely. "Neither am I, but what else is there to do?"

"What gave you that idea?" Aleifr replies, somehow managing to convey sarcasm without any change in his voice or facial expression.

Steve was right, of course, but Aleifr just sort of projects antisocial even when he doesn't mean to. In response to Steve's other question ...

"Drink. Eat." He glances around, briefly nodding in the direction of the throwing range. "Throw some axes. Better than the usual fare for these things."

Steve laughed quietly. "I'm good at reading people," Steve explained quickly. "Sorry if it makes you uncomfortable. I'll try not to do it anymore." It would be difficult, but Steve would do it if it meant fitting in.

"Throw axes? I can do that too," Steve said. "Funny, huh?"

"Doesn't bother me any." Aleifr replies with a brief shake of his head. His moods are relatively opaque, but he doesn't have anything to hide.

He gives Steve a brief once over. "Doesn't surprise me too much, actually. You look like you know how to fight."

"Just a minute!" The voice that called out to Steve's knock was undoubtedly on the young side, probably not something he was expecting, and a couple of minor thumps came from the room before the door was swung open. "Okay Aqua, I'm rea- Oh!"

Whatever Ven had been expecting when he opened the door, it clearly wasn't the giant man in front of him that made him crane his head back to see his face. Not even Terra was that tall, at least not yet, and for a brief moment he had to squash a fleeting brush of envy. His growth spurt had started, but it needed to finish. And the man looked... pretty nice, all things considered, if not somewhat lost. "Hi there. Can I help you?"

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."

"I used to have a lot." None of them were very wholesome or good hobbies. One could say that as a kid Arkady had been a wild child. Almost all of the FreakAngels had been. Maybe that was what happened to kids that looked so visibly different than everyone else. Or maybe it'd been because most of their parents had been on the wrong side of the fence. That was then and this was now though and her hobbies had changed.

"Now, hmm," she tilted her head to the side and blinked her purple eyes as she thought about what she'd classify as a hobby. "I help with the garden sometimes so we can have fresh strawberries and flowers! I like helping with the flowers." The way she said flowers had a childlike excitement to it. "Mostly I just experiment though. Someone had to" The way she'd seen it she was already pretty off. That meant that there might not be much harm in pushing the limits of her powers anyway. It wasn't like it could have made her more off. Hopefully. "What about you?"

Steve listened to the girl in front of him, Steve's head was spinning just a little bit. It was a lot of people to meet in what felt like a short amount of time but then Steve was pretty used to talking to people especially since he basically became a grief counselor, not that he was going to be telling anyone he knew that.

"What is your favorite flower?" He asked. "You sound like a friend of mine. He likes to build things. Me? I like to draw."

That was a question she hadn't really thought of for herself in what felt like a very long time. "Whatever kind we can find. They all have beauty to them, especially in the mess we have now." Any flower was a good flower when you'd accidentally flooded all of the United Kingdom.

"What's your favorite thing to draw?" She countered his favorite question with one of her own.

Pietro leans back in his chair and gives Steve a look somewhere between wary and disbelieving. Is this a real question he’s being asked? Maybe Steve doesn’t know Pietro and his sister yet. He’s aware that people are brought here from different points in time - just look at Wanda.

“Don’t you have that in my file?” Absently, Pietro drums his fingers along the surface of the table. Eyebrow raised, he adds: “You do have a file on us, right?” Us meaning him and Wanda, of course.

And now it is Steve's turn to look like he's seen a ghost because for him Pietro died almost 8 years ago and he needed a minute. His grip tightened on the mug he was holding when he looked up at Pietro.

"Not everything to know about a person is in a file. You know that, right?"

Of course he knows. Pietro and Wanda weren't really anything special before they became subjects of HYDRA's experiments - no reason to have much of a file on them, outside of their fairly new special abilities and participation in protests. Sokovian children orphaned by bombings and other acts of war weren't uncommon.

"You mean there is something the mighty Avengers cannot do?" It's said more teasing than barbed, but that delineation isn't always easy to tell with Pietro. Still, he flashes Steve a brief grin before answering his original question: "We didn't have much time for hobbies in Sokovia. Maybe if you had a ball you could throw it back and forth with another child in your neighborhood. Mostly, we just survived."

"Steve?" She blinked, surprised and uncertainty twisting awkwardly in her chest. "Oh." They had to answer questions. That was part of the game but she couldn't shake the surprise she felt at seeing him. It felt like it's been too long but it's also only been for a moment. Wanda had a lot of memories of Steve and she knew that those in the village were likely foreign to him. It was best to tread lightly.

"I hadn't thought to see you here." She remembered the shock and then quickly added. "I have been doing research about this city. That's all my hobbies so far but I like going on walks and exploring." Mostly because the city looped in on itself and Wanda never really knew where she was going to end up.

"When did you get here?" She looked down at her card and then clumsily added. "And what is your ideal vacation?"

Steve chuckled softly. "You sound surprised to see me?" He slouched a little in his chair, taking a sip of his drink. Steve got the feeling that she wasn't saying something, but he hadn't been here that long so how could he judge.

"You feel like taking a walk, now?" Steve almost missed the question. "I've never been on one really but Rhode Island was nice."

"A little," she smiled at him and gently shook her head. So much has happened to her and she no longer felt like the young woman that Steve had known but it was always nice to see him.

"Maybe I shouldn't be."

Her smile widened and a soft chuckle escaped her lips. "I could go for a walk now. If that's an invition."

Squall didn't look like he particularly wanted to be here. He kept looking around as if trying to look for a chance to escape. When Steve spoke, he stared at him like he'd forgotten Steve was there for a moment.

He nodded dumbly. Right. Playing along might be faster. He'd have an easier time absconding when the ten minutes are up. He doubted he was going to get very far when he was still easily confused. He should consider himself lucky he avoided NAPs for this long.

"Triple Triad. It's a card game."

Steve had seen a lot of people today and many of those people looked much like Squall did, so Steve Relaxed.

"Do you have any cards. Teach me?"

Steve has pressed the square button! The challenge has been accepted.

Squall straightens more and reaches into his pocket, pulling out a black leather case and the cards inside. His eyes are bright as he fans them out upon the table to show Steve. Not even a head injury will deter him.

"This is Triple Triad." He places one card in the center to show Steve. "The goal is to take as many of your opponent's cards as you can. We play on a 3 by 3 board. The four numbers on the top left corner shows how strong each side of the card is." He takes another card and places it next to the first. "We take turns placing a card. If the number on my card on the side facing yours is higher, your card is mine."

Edited (retconning bandage! derp) 2019-10-02 12:37 (UTC)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

i've been bitten by the bug ...

Steve Rogers |MCU| OTA

NAPS

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[NAP]

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Arrival/Around

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

NAPS

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naps!

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NAPS; I hope late is okay

Late is ALWAYS okay

<3

NAP

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