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

[ever seen a speedster try to sit still? even though it’s only for a few minutes at a time, it’s not easy for pietro to keep his restless energy contained; he keeps shifting position in his chair, drumming his fingers on the table, looking around the place like he’s bored - which he is. every minute he spends sitting here and talking to strangers is a minute he could surely spend on doing something more interesting. throwing axes at targets, for example. that at least sounds like it would be fun.

pietro hasn’t ever really seen a need for making friends - the companionship of his twin has always been enough for him. but there’s no real call to be hostile to the others who, like him, are stuck here in forced social interaction hell - not yet, anyway. he rapidly scans the card questions, blue eyes darting over the words while his mouth twists in a frown of disapproval. these questions are all incredibly dull, and pietro just doesn’t care to learn about the favorite color of the person sitting on the opposite side of the table. with a quiet, wordless sound of disapproval, he sets the card down on the table and leans in.]

Tell me - what would you rather be doing right now?

Edited 2019-09-13 14:56 (UTC)

[Actually, yes, he has seen speedsters try to sit still. In order of skill, he's put Northstar as the best at it, Surge good, Quicksilver as merely okay, and Speed as atrocious in some situations. Better if there was food.

But that doesn't mean he puts the speedster thing together until, as he's approaching the table for the next round, he catches how fast those eyes move over the cards. That's a bit more than just an attention or anxiety 'disorder'. He sits just before the man leans in and offers a brief shrug at the bluntness of the question.]

Honestly? I want to be here. I've met interesting people at these things before. Though I admit, this time has been a bit more intense than most.

[Captain America, Loki, Magneto? All so very interesting because they weren't from his world, like Wanda. Luckily he was used to her and that made adjusting to these people a touch easier. But this guy? he's another instance of very, very vaguely familiar. But he can't place why. Of course he can't. He hadn't seen this Pietro through Wanda's eyes. Only grieved him as he lived in her memory.]

Are you nervous? You seem to be... shifting around a lot. I promise I don't bite. Usually.

[good grief. someone who actually wants to be here, wasting time on talking to people? pietro rolls his eyes and sits back in his chair.]

I am not nervous. I'm bored. There's a difference.

[if david's paying attention, he might note that the man in front of him speaks with the same accent as wanda, though his is much stronger than hers.]

[It's nice, in the medical fields, to interact with people when they aren't trying so hard to bleed all over you. So yes, here talking to people. But he listens, and then his eyes go wide. A speedster with that accent, an accent evocative of Wanda at her weakest moment? Could it... He has to confirm.]

You're a speedster, correct? Move at super-human rates? You're a bored speedster forced to sit down for a few minutes, and you don't really like it.

[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?

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?

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?"

Interesting. Very very interesting. David considers it all very briefly.

"Usually most speedsters in my world are that. Basically a slightly different species from standard humans. But I'm learning all about other worlds where people have those powers without them being like I was."

Still, the more he hears that voice, the more he has to think.

"Ever heard of a place called Sokovia?"

A light smirk curls across Pietro's face. "There is no one else like me where I am from. My sister, she can do different things. There are others, but no one else is fast like me."

And he's pretty pleased with his status as special snowflake. It was not easy to harness his power and learn to control it, but the end result was more than worth it.

"Sokovia?" Pietro's expression twists into a suspicious scowl. David seems to be fishing for something, and Pietro's not sure he likes it. "It's my homeland. I was born there, and I lived there my whole life." Died there, too, but he's not keen to bring that up with a stranger, especially one who appears to be poking at personal information outside of the scope of this social exercise.

[Really? Tommy was friends with a guy who went fast like him. Especially since he is confirming something. This is Quicksilver. Wanda's Quicksilver. So not actually connected to the twins.]

A speedster from Sokovia. I might be going out on a limb, but would that make you Pietro Maximoff, older twin to Wanda Maximoff? I may have heard a bit about you. You're supposed to be the quickest there is.

I am the quickest there is, [he corrects david, and folds his arms over his chest, even more suspicious now.] Who have you been talking to?

Your sister.

[And his nephew. Which is another matter that doesn't, well, matter. Not actually his nephew.]

There was this thing, a bit back, where for some reason we were remembering things from other people's lives. I remembered something about you, and we talked about it a bit.

[As before, Tim is here because he's scheduled to be. Apparently dictating your employees' social lives is acceptable and legal around here. He's in a much better mood about it this time than last time, though. Cats are all well and good, and the ones that Cissie adopted are slowly growing on him, but axe-throwing is much more interesting to watch.

He takes a seat across from a guy who looks like has had at least fifteen too many cups of coffee. Hm. Most people have too much coffee to stay awake, but this guy doesn't look all that sleepy. He has more of the look of someone who's just wired this way, and. Well. One of Tim's best friends is Bart Allen, and he's worked with Wally West a few times.

More data required.

He leans in, mirroring Pietro's pose to reply.]

Parkour. You?

Edited 2019-09-18 20:42 (UTC)

[aha. this is an interesting answer, and one side of pietro's mouth quirks up in a half-smile.]

This is a good answer. [he nods in approval.] I like to run. Not fancy, just fast.

[soooo yup. speedster.]

[Tim grins a little at that answer. Signs definitely point to speedster.]

Some of us have to get fancy to make up for not being as fast. And you get a great view from a rooftop.

[well, no one is as fast as pietro, so there would have to be lots of fancying to make up for that deficit in speed.]

How high up do you go for a rooftop? Anything like what's out there? [he points toward the door to outside, indicating the city with its multitude of skyscrapers.]

[He shrugs a shoulder, grinning.] I'm not afraid of heights, and my brother is an acrobat. I won't do a skyscraper without equipment, but if I'm prepared, the sky's the limit.

[Literally. As he has friends who fly, and he's not too proud to hitch a ride with Superboy.]

What's your top speed?

Edited 2019-10-10 20:11 (UTC)

[Wanda waits for about thirty minutes before finally being paired with her twin brother. He looks bored and frustrated and she wants to save him from the tedium. So, she reaches for his hand and gently pulled him from the seat.]

Something else. [She answers his question with a smirk.] Why don't you take a break? This has been a lot.

[She's used to things like this but she knows that Pietro isn't.]

It isn't required that we stay here and who will catch you. [Her voice is lightly teasing and lowered in order to keep their conversation private.] We can explore the city. I haven't seen a lot of it. [And it'd be more entertaining with Pietro. He always runs in circles around her and has something to report back... or a stolen item to show off.]

[a break is an excellent idea, thank you wanda. rising from his chair, he mirrors her expression, glad to see her and grateful for that bit of information that they don't have to stay for the entire time. and she's right.]

No one in this city can catch me. [that might or might not be true, but pietro's claiming it regardless.] This is a big city. It would be hard to explore much without someone as fast as I am to take you places.

[Wanda laughs softly and shakes her head.]

Just be careful or we'll get lost. [She's experienced the cities tendency to fold in on itself and loop around. The last thing she needs is for Pietro to make them both incredibly dizzy.]

Come on. We should buy you some new clothes too.

[She's happy for her jobs if only because Pietro really shouldn't be walking around in a shirt riddled by bullets.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

i've been bitten by the bug ...

pietro maximoff } @naps; ota

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why did i switch formats -__-

blame chaos magic

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