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

NAPS

[ferrokinetically]

[ There's a list somewhere in Lorna's mind of the top ten people she's never expected to actually meet. The name on the top of the list is obvious to anyone that knows of her. The rest of the list is equally predictable. Spoiler: almost all the names on it are X-Men. Charles Xavier's name is definitely towards the top. Maybe even just one bellow that first special name.

Needless to say there's a mix of emotions that stir inside of her as she sits down across from someone she never thought she'd meet. Or see again. It hits her as she folds her arms across her chest that she's sitting across from Charles Xavier while surrounded by pillow forts. A sardonic smirk forms on her lips at his questions. ]

Sarcastic. Fighter. And...[ she leans back in the seat and taps her steel-toed boots as if she's really thinking about the final word to pick. ] magnetic. Yeah, lets go with magnetic. [ It's too late now but the thought does cross her mind that she should have planned this better. Thought about what to say. How much to say. If she should even say anything at all. But Lorna's never been one to think too much before she just does. ] Your turn.

[axiomed]

[ charles barely resists the urge to sigh at magnetic, though . . this is not the person he'd expect to hear that line from. yes, erik you're very magnetic. still he smiles at her. ]

Ah, I suppose I would pick knowledgeable. Patient. Adaptable these days.

[ferrokinetically]

[ She lets out a little chuckle that might sound closer to a scoff. Somehow she manages to bite back the urge to say anything overly sarcastic. It's a miracle. Marcos would be proud of her today. ]

Knowledgeable huh? That a general type of knowledgeable or is there a subject you really excel at?

[axiomed]

[ charles folds his hands in his lap. he knows he's being assessed. to what end, he doesn't know. and he rather not dig in just yet. ]

General, to some degree as I was a professor. But I do have a PhD in genetics and science.

[ferrokinetically]

[ She inclines her head to the left and leans in bit. ]

Genetics. That's impressive. Humans back where I'm from have always had a weird investment in genetics.

[axiomed]

[ charles merely raises his eyebrows. ]

I think that's rather commonplace in human history. Where one came from, where our growth will take us. It's hardly an unusual topic, though rather dry in nature.

[ferrokinetically]

[ Her eyes rolled slightly at one particular part of his comment. ]

Where our growth will take us. That's what they're most interested in. I guess fear is a good motivator.

[axiomed]

[ he hums, not quite agreeing but in understanding. ]

Perhaps.

So you are a mutant.

[ferrokinetically]

[ If bitterness and a bleak outlook were inheritable genetic traits, Lorna would be able to say she inherited them from someone specific. ]

Got me. [ And again she goes with speaking before she thinks. ] Part of a group trying to clean up the mess the X-Men left behind actually. [ Surprisingly there isn't bitterness in the statement. Instead she's almost...proud? Happy to be able to say that at least someone's carrying on. Even if she did make it a lot worse for mutants recently. Maybe that's an inherited genetic trait too. ]

[axiomed]

[ his brow furrows. ]

The mess?

[ferrokinetically]

Yeah. [ She lets out a sigh. ] The worlds kinda gone up in flames since the X-Men disappeared. [ She's just going to conveniently leave out her own role in that for now. ] Guess you could take that as proof you were doing something right. [ This is why she doesn't try to be positive. She's bad at it. ]

[axiomed]

[ hank. peter. scott. his students. gone? no. that can't be right. can it? charles had sacrificed so much so that they could be seen, heard and not shuffled into the shadows, the government's dark secret. ]

That's — Impossible. They simply did not vanish.

[ferrokinetically]

[ She shrugs as she realizes she really hasn't thought this through. ]

Nobody knows what happened. One day the X-Men and the Brotherhood were just mostly...[ She puts up both hands ] gone. The Brotherhood left the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle with money and resources. The X-Men left us with the mutant underground. [ Money would have been more appreciated guys. ]

[axiomed]

[ charles closes his eyes, pulling his emotions inwardly. the brotherhood was gone long ago. whatever this is — it's not his future. and if there's one thing charles has learned, it's that the future can change in the blink of an eye.

he opens his eyes. ]

It would have been a catastrophic event to cause such a thing. But I suppose it's not unheard of.

[ferrokinetically]

I dunno. I thought maybe you'd have some answers about what happened. [ But she's never that lucky. ] Guess it'll have to remain the great mystery of our time.

[axiomed]

[ a slow shake of his head. ]

I'm afraid I am retired. I no longer handle matters of the X-Men.

[ferrokinetically]

Must be nice to just walk away from all that. [ Just a hint of sarcasm is sprinkled onto that. ]

[axiomed]

[ in the mildest of tones. ]

Perhaps you haven't noticed, but I don't do much walking anymore.

[ferrokinetically]

Figure of speech. [ She gives an awkward little shrug. ] Sorry.

[axiomed]

[ she's not off the hook, but she's still young so charles puts it aside. if there's anything he's learned in life is that not every battle needs to be won. not every victory needs to be his, branded and certain. ]

I gave the school, mutants and the movement decades of my life. If anyone has a problem with that, I'm more than happy to discuss it.

[ferrokinetically]

I have a problem with the X-Men disappearing and leaving us to deal with Sentinel Services and the Hound program. [ she shrugs. ] And it's kinda disappointing to hear the great Charles Xavier just gave up on trying to make things better.

[axiomed]

[ wryly. ]

That is certainly an unique take on it. I was not aware the X-Men were the spokespeople for all mutants now. Or that I was responsible for the entirety of a species.

I did make things better. And I'm proud of the X-Men and what I've done. But I'm not here to be taken for granted or blamed for a future that is out of my hands.

[ferrokinetically]

Unique take on it yourself. Or just a convenient one. [ she sighs. ]

It's been a frustrating few years. ...Sorry.

[axiomed]

That would have been my second choice.

[ but some of his firmness melts away. ]

Apology accepted. I'm sorry things have gotten so dire but I'm afraid I don't have any answers. Your world may not be the same as mine and I cannot speak for all Charles Xaviers. Only myself.

[ferrokinetically]

[ again she shrugs and keeps a tenseness about her. ]

There never seem to be answers. [ A pause and then curiosity comes back to her. ] What's your relationship with Magneto like where you're from?