dualisooc | TDM 001. WELCOME TO THE CITY

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TDM 001. WELCOME TO THE CITY

» 01. WELCOME WAGON

Wow, what a bunch of new faces! The city of Dualis hasn't seen anything like this in a long time, and they've seen some pretty crazy things. Chances are you're seeing some pretty crazy things, too, unless you're used to a lot 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 first 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, then 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?

» 02. A BUG IN THE CODE

Remember how the Head mentioned that whole plague thing? Well, don't worry, this isn't that.

It is, however, a really, really terrible flu circulating through the residents of Dualis. Symptoms include fever, chills, vomiting, hallucinations and even in some cases seizures. Bad news, all around. Luckily, this is something the Head knows how to deal with! Time for vaccinations, everyone~

The vaccination process is pretty straightforward: just head to your local clinic and get innoculated! You'll be in and out in less than ten minutes, MedDualis is pretty efficient that way. There isn't even a copay. The MedDroids will tell you, however, that there might be some minor side effects** to watch out for, including physical reactions and odd dreams, but don't worry--those will wear off within forty-eight hours. Nothing to concern yourself about! Of course, if that worries you, you could always run the risk of getting the flu--or passing it on to your loved ones...

**Possible side effects include: Gender or sex change, positive or negative size change, appearance alterations, shared dreams, and mild telepathic links, among others. Please contact your local MedDroid if these symptoms become too severe, or other side effects such as death occur.

» 03. TANSTAAFL

Well, you're settling in just fine, and the basic accommodations and amenities are okay, but maybe you've got a hankering to see that new VR Film: SHARKS IN SPACE 85: BLACK HOLE SHARK DO DO DO DO DO DO DO. Or maybe you want some sweet new duds to wear around town, or even just an actual slab of steak. Sorry, those cost extra, pal, which means it's time for...

JOB HUNTING.

Fortunately, Dualis makes this pretty easy! There's a job fair on this week, down at the Central Hub! Plug your certifications and skills into any of the EmployMe terminals in the Dualis Central Hub, and the computer will auto-generate a currently open job that it feels you'd be best suited for. No resume writing or lengthy application process required! Of course, whether or not this job sounds like the right job for you is another matter...but hey, how could an AI with millions of years of learning be wrong? Time to get started, or try and switch waivers with another unhappy new employee--but be warned, some unforeseen consequences may occur if you try swapping identities with someone else...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

(Note: Jane has multiple personalities, and may shift between one or more throughout an interaction.)

Welcome Wagon
[This was uncomfortable. It's not that Dualis is so jarring and strange and involuntary-relocation-y that it seems oppressive (although it does), it's that she has traditionally never played well with others. Especially not at first meetings, where people put on their best face and pretended to be better than they were. But Baby Doll had wanted to make friends and Flit had wanted to see what all the fuss was about, so Jane didn't get much of a say in the matter. She went along with it and got back in the driver's seat when they arrived, intending to vet the fellow freaks she was stuck with.]

Let me guess, you like long walks on the beach, fine wine by candlelight, and petting dogs. If you're going to talk, say something real.

[Small talk is not her forte.]

Bug in the System (CW: morbid humor and vomiting)
[Hallucinations? Acceptable weirdness. Seizures? A Jane fears not these things. What she did fear was whatever the MedDroids might pump into her with that "vaccination," which could be radioactive horse piss for all she knew. Good things never happen when you put medical treatment in the hands of someone who might have an agenda – look what happened with Morden and Von Fuches or even with fucking Niles Caulder. No thanks, Jane knew better.

And when the flu hit, it hit hard. She knew fluids were necessary and was en route for a hot cocoa. That'd make up for the calories she lost by throwing up in every third trash can she passed, right?

She flips her hair back, wipes her mouth, and stands upright before spitting some bile onto the street.]

Hey, you got a tissue? Or even better, a fucking gun to shoot me with?

[this is by far the stupidest round of this idiotic game mello's come across yet. small talk's not his forte either and this entire event has been a gigantic waste of his time so far, but those questions? those are just downright insulting. his eyes narrow and the semi-permanent scowl on his face deepens.]

You're an idiot.

[how's that for real? also he likes none of those things, for the record.]

Nice one, Cameron Diaz. You're worse at this than I am.

[It is a real reaction, he gets a point for that. She'll take real rudeness over fake politeness anyday.]

[Murphy's seen worse. A hardened survivor of a good, nasty apocalypse? That's him. Hell, this is the first journey he's been on in a while where, in a full week, his belly's stayed full and he's actually been able to shower on a regular basis. Jesus Christ, that's nice to have access to.]

[Warm water, manna from heaven.]

[There's a hot woman vomiting in a trash can, which makes her only moderately less hot. But hitting on her isn't on his mind as he strolls up, hands in the pockets of his gaudy bead-trimmed black suit with a jewel-tone red shirt. He has the good fortune of being in possession of some napkins from an earlier meal.]

Take it you didn't take the inoculation, huh? Good call. Last time I let a frisky scientist near me, I ended up with this pretty complexion.

[He offers her those napkins.]

[The only type of hot Jane feels is the fever. She probably wouldn't take the napkins if Murphy had voiced that observation, but his good sense is her gain. After a cursory glance at this colorful man she grabs the napkins and dabs at her mouth, spitting into them and crumpling them up.] Cool.

I'm not one of those dipshits who can't handle a fucking cold if that's what you mean. [She knows it wasn't, just doesn't want to acknowledge they had that experience in common.] So that's what wackjob booster shots do where you're from? Turn you blue? [That can't have been the desired end result, not unless this guy came from Hunger Games world.]

Booster shots against a zombie bite. They worked. But still, I'm a little bitter over being strapped to a chair and dosed full of experimental serum.

And frankly, judging from what I hear of diseases past? I don't think it'll be a very good time for any of us when these scientists get desperate. I doubt this flu shot is just for the cold.

[There's something a little posh about him. Like maybe, at one time, he was some sort of accountant or businessman. But that's long gone. Covered by the physically worn appearance of someone experimented on, scraped by to survive, but with a flare for dramatic clothes when he can.]

My bet is the nausea will be worth it.

[Oh, zombie world. That's new, but she can roll with it. Might explain why he was wearing such fancy clothes, since how often would you get to dress up with zombies roaming around?] Did it work and fuck things up worse? Seems to be how it goes.

No shit. [It probably couldn't be too long before they started hauling people in and strapping them to beds before pumping them full of chemicals. Being a guinea pig was bad enough, she wasn't going back in the lab. She didn't want anyone else going in, either.]

You caught this yet?

[The actual answer is All The Fucking Time. If he has access to snazzy clothes in some abandoned store? He is absolutely putting them on. And the whole world is full of abandoned stores and gaudy fabrics that survival doesn't have the time for.]

Nope. Luckily. I don't get sick anymore. I'd be shocked if I did.

[He doesn't get sick, he gets weird. He's honestly tempted to start offering his own vaccination (and it's not as lewd as it sounds). Just going up to people and offering the Bite. But honestly, people aren't so desperate to avoid this as they were to avoid the zombie outbreak.]

[At least if this goes terribly wrong, he does know the bite works.]

If I do get anything near sick, it means my immunity's adjusting to something new. Would be a blessing but, circumstances. So you need someone to walk you home and call it in if you keel over on the sidewalk? [He laughs at his own joke, because. Come on. Zombie apocalypse survivor. That shit is funny at this point. ~~It's never been funny, Murphy.~~]

[Jane was about to say something about being jealous, but the last thing Murphy says catches someone else's attention. The outline of her body blurs for a second and clears, a little different. She had been slumping, tired, and without changing position her posture seems to become more predatory. Hammerhead locks eyes with Murphy and steps forward, slow, her voice dropping to a hiss.]

Thought you lucked out and found some wilting little flower you could tuck into bed, huh?

Fuck you! I do not need some pimped-out Violet Beauregard asslick to fuckin' hold my hand!

[What the fuck? He starts to defend himself, not physically, but in raising his hands and backing up.]

Hey hey hey, nooo fight necessary. Just making the offer. But what the hell just happened-

[He taps his own head, and then points to her.]

-up here. I felt that. You're someone different.

[And... you know what? Still hot. Even with the threats of violence.]

Yeah? Well you better keep it in your fucking pants or I'll rip it off and see how sick you get from that.

[Great, a fucking mind-reader. Hammerhead's favorite thing.

Her eyes are livid as she leans forward and grabs the front of his garnet shirt, yanking on the fabric to pull him to her level. Even sick she's got a hell of a grip, and if ever a short woman had trouble staring down a much taller man, it sure isn't now.]

You poke around in my brain, I curbstomp yours onto the street. Got it?

Edited (typo) 2019-09-04 07:39 (UTC)

I can't, okay! You're still alive, that's all I can tell. [He keeps his hand up. Honestly, he's so used to Roberta or Addy that this doesn't even feel unusual.]

Limited powers.

[To read thoughts and memories? He has to eat a brain. And he kind of hates that he even has that hunger, even in the very unlikely event that an anvil were to drop from the sky and squish Hammerhead's head right now and make them available. He'd probably not partake.]

[At least he'd try not to.]

It- it was more like a uh... Like rumble. That's what I felt. [He would really like to know what made that.]

You saying you can only read dead people's minds? Jesus, that's fucked up. What kind of freak are you? [For a split second Hammerhead almost feels sorry for the fellow freak, pervert or no (and he firmly was in her mind). But it's a split second and whatever else he is, he's a threat she defends against, pressing her hand against his chest and pushing him back.]

Good. You keep it that way, 'cause I don't owe you shit about me, motherfucker!

[And that's about enough from her. He might feel another rumble, then Sylvia takes control and glares at him.] W̟͎̣̙̜e̞̣̖̖̥ͣ̂ͤ̇̊'͒̃̃̾ṟ̭͚͈̺͎́̃̿ͥ̿̇e͖̫̜͛ͦ̽ ̭̥͚͙̼̹͗ͯ͑ͦͩͩ̓ͅnͧ̚o̯̹t ̫͌y̻̙̦̗͕͆͌ͬ̋̒ŏ̤̰͚̦̱͉ͨ͒ͫ̓̀ṹ̟̝͈̮͙ͩ̈́͗ȑ͉͍̪͙̲͙͎͋̊ͭ̈́͋̓ ͌̈́̇̌m̀́̈͋ͩͩys̜͔̊̈́t̬ͦe̜ͨř̦̯͈̮̘̺̃͒͛ͯͤ̌ͅy̦̬̗̞̥̼̠̑ͤ̑ͨ͛ͣ̍ t̠̯̱͒ͭ̓̍ͅo̫̘ͮͪ ̳̣͔̙s̊̔̀̉̂ͫ͋o͈̯͙͎l̝̳̦v̂͛͐ͬ̍͌̚é̱̳ͬ.̺̱̗͉

[Jane wrests the driver's seat from Sylvia and settles back into it. She flashes Murphy the brightest possible sickly smile as she heads on her way.] Thanks for the napkins.

[Surveying the streets seemed like a good idea at the time. It was helpful to get to know your surroundings intimately, just in case. However, these streets and lanes twisted and turned in such ways that were confusing even for him.

Eventually he opts for taking a stroll as he tries to work out a better way to map his surroundings. He already noticed a few destinations that seemed easy enough to remember and/or get to, so he would keep a mental note of those as anchors. It's during one of these thoughts when he notices the woman vomiting into a trashcan, and by the time he approaches she's already speaking.]

No gun, unfortunately. [But he does reach into...somewhere, one of the many hidden pockets of his suit, seemingly too tight fitting to even have secret pockets, and yet, out comes a handkerchief, which he holds out for her.] But I have this.

[He made it a habit of carrying one around always, once the coughing began to flare up so badly he would cough out spit or the occasional blood. His fits lessened since arriving here, so he hadn't needed to use it yet.]

[This was a weird town, Jane had figured that out as soon as she appeared. Any place that would take her in had to be weird as fuck. So it was almost not a surprise to find herself talking to a leather-clad scaly guy with the lips of a teen heartthrob.]

Well, shit. You could've been a hero.

You carry a handkerchief? [The answer is obvious, it just happened to be the last thing she was expecting from what appeared to be an alien lizard leather daddy. Handkerchiefs seemed a little low-tech for wherever this guy came from.] Why?

[For a moment Thane regards the handkerchief as if it's responsible for holding the answer to that question, when in reality, he's thinking up a response that isn't "sometimes I cough up blood".]

Don't most people? [The low rumble of his voice takes on a slight joking tone at that, just barely. Because he's clearly not most people.] You never know when it will come in handy. I like to be prepared.

No. [Does that tone mean he's joking? Jane is pretty sure it does but for all she knew that tone could indicate somber sincerity where he was from. Still, the guy was offering her a handkerchief and she had vomit-flavored spit in her mouth, she was in no position to turn it down. She took it, spit in it, scrubbed at her mouth, and handed it back wadded up.] Thanks.

I'm Jane. [She waits, prompting: now what the hell are you?]

[Thane watches seemingly unaffected by the woman spitting into the handkerchief, even when she attempts to hand it back. He simply lifts a hand.]

You keep it.

[He hadn't intended for it to be returned when he handed it over.]

I am Tannor Nuara. A pleasure, Jane.

[Yes, he's aware the burning question isn't actually the faux name he just gave, but it's polite to introduce oneself (even if a lie) and he doesn't tend to give up more information than necessary unprompted, specifically to strangers. Even if it was as harmless as what he was. Force of habit.

Besides, his attention is mostly on the sick woman before him, who he is now silently scrutinizing in an attempt to assess what kind of state she is in aside from "randomly stopping to throw up in trashcans".]

You don't need it? [If he was carrying it around he must have needed it for something. Cultural differences aside, who carried stuff just to give it away to strangers? Sure, she was sick -- even if she hadn't just been puking she's shivering and sweating -- and he could be afraid of catching the same thing. In which case why stop to talk to her at all?]

And what are you, Tannor? [No one has ever accused Jane of being polite. Especially not when she's confused.]

Not at the moment.

[He won't begrudge Jane her suspicious questioning. Thane is well aware he sticks out a bit too much already. Besides, it's good to be cautious.]

I am a drell. But I believe a more clarifying word for you would be 'alien'.

[Even though whether one is an alien or not depends on where they are. In fact, where he comes from a human would still refer to him or anyone not human as such whether both were on a foreign planet or not.]

I figured the alien part. Drell's new.

["Alien" covered a wide range of things, from Superman to the entity sharing a body with her old housemate, so that didn't clarify much. "Drell" didn't either, but at least she knew the word now.]

You seem pretty used to humans.

[Sometimes he wonders if a human would be able to answer the question 'what are you' with anything remotely helpful. But any little bit of information is good information. At least, that's how he sees it.]

Humans are a numerous bunch, despite being fairly new to the galactic community. I've come across many, even before I left my home world. [His first mark was a human. But that's hardly a topic of conversation.]

Besides, there's something more pressing he feels should be addressed.]

Perhaps you should find a place to sit for the moment. You were emptying your stomach mere moments ago.

[Okay, he was from someplace where humans had started exploring the galaxy in earnest. That explained more than "drell" did. And the guy wasn't hostile right out of the gate, which meant he was probably less racist than she was being. That was good.

Sick as she is, Jane rolls her eyes when he suggests she sit down.]

I didn't forget I puked. It's fine, okay?

[She might have been shivering and sweating through a nauseous fever, but Jane was sure she could handle getting to the café before she rested.]

[Thane nods his head in understanding.]

Of course. I meant no offense.

[It doesn't take anyone particularly observant to surmise that she likely wouldn't take too kindly to anymore offerings of help. He would leave her be since that appears to be what she desires, but she's exhibiting some troubling symptoms.]

I'm lost. This city is hopelessly confusing. Would you mind if I accompanied you until I found a familiar road?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

TDM 001. WELCOME TO THE CITY

Crazy Jane | Doom Patrol (DCTV)

not-so-welcome wagon

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Bug in the System

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But in the System

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I JUST NOTICED MY TYPO IN THE SUBJECT DEAR LORD

pffft, I knew what you meant

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