quietmounds | (no subject)

(no subject)

WHAT in person
WHERE Tidy Living Apartments
WHEN Day 132

[A very unusual-looking cutie is standing in the foyer of the Tidy Living apartments today. You definitely haven't seen them before. They are repeatedly pressing the elevator button, then jumping when it opens]

But I don't get it... I know the ding means get in, but who's opening and closing the doors...? Is someone here raising and lowering it? Ahh, and when I went upstairs, it was completely incomprehensible...

[Help them out?]

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[big!]

Oh! Um, 'help' is a little strong, but I wouldn't mind...?

It's all right, This place takes a little getting used to at first.

It's certainly very different...

[a nod]

I'm from a place that's like this to begin with, but it's still not the same.

It's completely different! I mean, I suppose, nothing is completely different, but... nothing looks the same?

I'm Diamond, by the way. Please, call me Dia.

Steve Rogers. You can call me Steve.

What's it like where you're from, Dia?

Where I'm from? Well... the... [brief hesitation over the number] The 28 of us live on the island left after the meteors hit our planet? We all began living a long time after that, though, so we've only been told about it.

[a bit of a pause]

It might not be too different for you, in that way at least. Although the population here isn't that low, it's not high either. It's easy enough to get to know of the people living here.

That's good, at least? You're 'human', yes? Most of the population looks like it is?

Most of us are, yeah. Though not all of us are what you'd call normal humans.

What's the difference between a human and a normal human?

What we're capable of.

[gestures a little at himself]

I can run faster than most people. I'm stronger and I heal faster as well. Things like that.

Oh, like the Mohs scale.

[a pause]

Something like that, I think.

That makes sense. Some gems are as low as 2s, while we go up to 10... even at 10, our structure can make a huge difference.

[a nod]

For humans it's more like most people start out at about the same level, some might be a bit lower or higher, but you can work to overcome that type of thing.

But there's some of us, we've had things happen to use that just put us straight up to a different level. So where most people can only move between 1 and 10, of the people here there's some that can go straight up to 20.

Then, they can't touch anyone?

Not quite. They're just stronger in different ways.

But there's a drawback? Or is it just that even if they're the same otherwise, some are stronger, no drawbacks to balance it out?

[there's a weird bitterness in their voice for a moment]

[shakes his head]

There's some drawbacks, but it depends on how they're stronger. Though I don't know of anyone who can't touch other people because of the powers they have.

[because mutants don't exist in the MCU]

Ah... I mean, we can touch, we just have to be careful. I'm a ten, so I could break any lower level if we bumped into each other.

[pauses a moment]

It's not quite like that, but it's things like I have to be careful when I shake someone's hand, or giving a hug.

Why's that?

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