sheets all on the floor just like an ocean ...

[headandhand]

WHO: All y’all!
WHAT: Your regularly scheduled NAPs event for the month
WHERE: Fort Pillowtown
WHEN: Oct. 7-10
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 - 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 a new, super-comfy all-ages establishment called Fort Pillowtown. As the name suggests, it’s a large indoor space filled wall to wall with permanent pillowforts. There are a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors, with each individual fort constructed of gauzy hanging sheets, strings of soft lights, warm blankets, plush toys, a mini television with on-screen menu for choosing movies to watch and video games to play, and yes, lots and lots of pillows. Snacks and drinks of all sorts are available for purchase, as are whimsical onesies and comfy slippers to wear. Board and card game sets are also available to borrow or buy. Sounds like a dream, right?

So pull up a pillow pile, get to know your new neighbors, and enjoy a well-earned and comfy chill-out session. And hey, if you end up napping at NAPs, rest assured that it’s absolutely allowed.

Comments

[helpdesk_hero]

It was a passive, uncontrolled power. To say it could cause headaches in a metaphorical sense would not be inaccurate. I couldn’t stop myself from knowing things. As for managing? The combination of a slightly different brain structure, like telepaths are prone to, and a few other factors made it manageable enough.

[He has mentioned the genius. He saw no point to lying to Charles. Fact was a good part of what made him an effective wielder if such power was how he could organize and meld the information together into something useful.]

The school gave me a place to be safe after an anti-mutant group back home figured me out. They threatened my family. Xavier’s gave me a home. A chance to learn with teachers who understood my condition as well as anyone could and who could set up circumstances to make sure that when I was tested, it was on my own knowledge and not theirs. It’s a good dream, a school, and trying to bring mutants together.

[axiomed]

[ his expression softens at that. despite his own personal setbacks, he's glad the school will continue. ]

I'm glad. Truly. That's what I've always wanted for everyone.

[helpdesk_hero]

[Continue is a very... inaccurate statement.]

I know it is. I hope that's something you find in your world when you return.

[axiomed]

[ a quiet sigh. ]

I'm afraid it's not really in my hands at the moment. I've retired.

[helpdesk_hero]

[Retired? David looks at him in absolute shock. That...]

That parallels a little to my world. Our Charles Xavier retired, left the school in Scott and Emma's hands, and...

[Ran off to live with Erik Lehnsherr.]

[axiomed]

[ charles exhales. ]

Currently, Hank is in charge of the school. Scott is still around, of course.

[helpdesk_hero]

[Well, David doesn't approve of Scott being in charge. In fact, he smiles at the idea of Hank doing it.]

Yeah. That's a good arrangement, if your Hank is like mine. Hank's very devoted.

[axiomed]

[ a rueful nod. ]

He certainly is. He stood by my side for a long time.

[helpdesk_hero]

In my world, Hank always stands by the dream of Charles Xavier. No matter how dark times got, no matter how hard, he always believed in peace between humans and mutants.

[David has a soft smile at that, shaking his head.]

I've got... I've got so much of him in my head. I lost some of it, but one of the heaviest influences on what I remember, unlocked because of the Cuckoos, comes either from Charles or Hank. Seeing you here is almost...

[He can't help the flare of sorrow in his chest. Charles, dead. He can't... But he forces a smile.]

It's comforting.

[axiomed]

[ perhaps it was. despite the setbacks, charles still trusts hank explicitly. things will be all right, though it still feels hard to let go. like a defeat he hasn't fully reconciled. but with each day and the sudden change of scenery, it's slowly coming to him. ]

Well, I'm touched. Truly. I'm glad to hear how much it mattered.

[helpdesk_hero]

[David can't help it. He flinches at the use of past tense. It's... more than he can handle. A lot more.]

That school changed a lot of lives. In my world there ere nearly two-hundred and fifty of us while I was there. People that didn't have anywhere else to go.

[axiomed]

[ charles catches that, but keeps quiet on it. for now. ]

No. That's why it was meant to be a home. A place anyone could go back to.

[helpdesk_hero]

There were people, on my team. They... they had teachers at the school as their legal guardians. It's something he gave us a chance for. A place to keep our families safe. I don't know if anyone in your world thanked you for that. On behalf of anyone whose life has been changed for the better by you, allow me to thank you anyway.

[There was never enough credit for the man. And David... Wished he'd had the chance to thank Charles before the end. Rather than just being angry.]

[axiomed]

[ oh. charles is getting emotional and quickly swipes at his face. ]

Thank you.

[helpdesk_hero]

[Thing is, David's never seen him emotional. Ever. That makes him look a bit nervous.]

Sorry. I've been in a weird state of being alone here since the Maximoff twins left. And now, all of a sudden, there are the older Maximoff twins, and now you and Erik... mutants around again. Makes me wonder how I should define myself now.

[axiomed]

[ maximoffs? charles only knows of one. but there are different worlds he's grappling with here. ]

What do you mean? Why wouldn't you be a mutant?

[helpdesk_hero]

[Complex question. Simple answer. Pain all the way.]

Because my genetics aren't what they used to be. I went to bed a mutant one night, and woke up human the next day. Life can be... complicated.

[axiomed]

[ that — charles stares a little because what. genetics don't change overnight. can they?? there's a brief pause before charles speaks up. ]

Of that, I have no doubt. But if you wish to reclaim it, you should.

[helpdesk_hero]

Is that your way of saying I have permission to apply the term to myself, despite lacking the basic requisite genetics?

[axiomed]

Well, I don't think you need my permission for that.

But you have my support, if it helps.

[helpdesk_hero]

To be quite honest? There are two mutants in this city that I know of. Of them, your the one whose word I hold in higher esteem. No offense to Erik. It's just that I've not always seen eye to eye with him, as great as his grandchi-

[You know what? Nope. He's not finishing that sentence. Moving on.]

Thank you. It was never easy to find a way to describe myself after everything happened. There were some mutants who were... dismissive of me.

[axiomed]

[ hmm. charles lets it go for now. ]

No, I can't imagine it was. Trying to navigate your own identity after something like that . . . I can't picture it.

[helpdesk_hero]

[So many things Charles is letting go. Wise, given their ten minutes are clearly almost up.]

I hope you never have to. It is a lifetime redefining experience. Almost moreso than powers manifesting.

But that's probably not that important to consider here. Can I ask a question about you?

[axiomed]

[ he blinks. ]

Certainly. Go right ahead.

[helpdesk_hero]

Some people that show up here, they seem to either have less of the powers they previously had, or none of it at all. Are you still...

[A quiet gesture. Clearly the man will understand what he's getting at.]