riverviewlogs | [open] it's time to tip it off

Entry tags:

[open] it's time to tip it off

who: cisco + anyone!
what: catch-all
when: july
where: anywhere; if you want a starter, please hit me up!
warnings: discussion of sex & drinking

i. tech testing

[ Most of Cisco's work is done within the privacy of his workshop, but there comes a time when he has to leave and find a nice quiet place to actually test some of the tech that he's made. The one time he'd done so outside the wall, things had gone very very badly. So he makes a compromise, finds an alleyway that is within the city but deserted. Sure, he might blow up a dumpster or two and make quite a racket, but he is less likely to get attacked by monsters here, and if anyone disturbs him he can just tell them to clear out.

That's the theory, anyway. But some of the stuff he brought with him might be a bit more powerful than he'd intended... ]

ii. nesting

[ Cisco had been very tentative about his new living situation, at first. He didn't want to get too comfortable, in case Yuri changed his mind, or Eddie got sick of him. But after a few weeks, with no signs that they want him to leave, Cisco starts to think about maybe settling in to his new room. It's fairly stark, still - just a bed, some sheets, and an old couch. All his clothes are still in bags, but the first thing on his list is some dark curtains for the windows. He was never meant to be a morning person.

He can be seen in various shops in the quarantine, looking at furniture, rugs, curtains, etcetera. Cisco's not above asking random strangers for their opinion, either. ]

What do you think, this one or this one?

iii. misc

[ Come plot something! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Kate isn't looking for anything specific. She's wandering from store to store to see what all of the shops have. A home store makes sense considering the purpose of the city though Kate has no interest in shopping there. She's still getting to know her roommate and she doesn't want to push any unseen boundaries.

That doesn't mean she can't look.

Her finger gently runs along a decorative plate. There is a snake painted on it which always got Kate thinking of home, her bother and the Gecko's. She wonders what they were up to right now. Cisco's voice broke her from her thoughts and snapped her attention over to him and his plight.]

Huh? What are you looking for exactly?

[Knowing nothing about Cisco makes it a little difficult to offer a helpful opinion.]

[ Cisco feels a touch guilty when he sees that the young woman he was talking to had been lost in her own thoughts, and that he'd jarred her out of that with his sudden, random question. ]

Which would look better in an attic bedroom?

[ One of the sets of curtains is nice, but rather plain - just a rich, dark eggplant with a very faint texturing across it in diamond shapes. The other set is a bit more whimsical, with stars and planets and comets, and probably was meant for a child's bedroom in all honesty. ]

Elegant, or fun?

[Kate regards the two sets of curtains with a serious stare. While the dark one will work well to get rid of any unwanted light, attics are usually smaller and something a little brighter or whimsical might be a little bit more suited. Her lips tug into a smile as she looks between them.]

That one.

[She points to the set with stars, planets and comets.]

I think that space is cool.

[ Cisco beams, delighted by her choice. The truth is, he'd been leaning towards those curtains, too, but he'd been mostly concerned with whether he ought to buy them. This is his first time sharing a place with roommates, and he doesn't want to immediately make them think he's some immature man-child.

But if this random lady thinks they're the better option, he's absolutely prepared to use that as justification]

Hell yeah, space is cool.

[ Cisco carefully hangs the purple curtains back into the display rack and tucks the space-patterned ones into his basket. He turns again to the girl, who by all accounts seems pretty cool, and asks: ] What're you looking for? Or are you just window shopping?

[ Get it? Because they're in the section with window dressings? Yeah, that was a bad one. ]

Edited 2017-07-10 07:09 (UTC)

[Kate doesn't see anything wrong with whimsical or silly compliments to a room. She's pretty sure that the plaid pink curtains from her childhood were still up in her old room. She doesn't plan to return home but maybe she will for those curtains. A small reminder of the innocents she once possessed.

Her smile widens at his pun and against all odds, Kate laughs.] You could say that, yes. I wanted to take a look around and see everything they had here. I need to find a job before I can really start buying anything.

[She enjoys all and any lighthearted conversation. It feels odd talking about drapes. Maybe a little to normal.]

What about you? Did you just come for the curtains?

[ Wow, and here he'd been expecting that at best the girl was going to roll her eyes, at worst shove him into the shelves of curtains. Both would be understandable reactions. Cisco grins, surprised and delighted. ]

They didn't give you one when you showed up? I thought they did that for everybody?

[ It's been a few months since he had come through the portal, but he does seem to remember someone telling him that it was his choice, whether he should take the job they'd assessed him to be suitable for. But it turned out, the thing they wanted him to do was similar to what he'd been doing back home, and he pretty much loves it. ]

So you must be pretty new, huh? I'm Cisco, by the way.

[ He offers a hand for her to shake; he always goes a little out of his way to be friendly to newcomers. He remembers his first few weeks in the quarantine, and how confusing and lonely they were, and how kind people had been to him. That had meant a lot. ]

Naw, couple other things, too. Actually, pretty much everything except a bed. Just moved in to a new place and I haven't got much of anything.

[Puns are awesome and everyone should appreciate them.]

No. I could have asked but I wasn't sure what skills I could tell them. [She's spent the last couple of months in Mexico doing what it took to keep going. They weren't skills she could list out.] Yeah. I'm Kate. [She shakes his hand before returning her hand back to her side.] It's nice to meet you.

[Kate likes meeting friendly people.]

That sounds exciting. I don't mind offering an opinion if you need any more.

I mean... there's always school? Pretty sure the university here's free, you could try that for a bit, take some classes, figure out if any of it fits.

[ It's hard to gauge people's age just by looking at them, but Kate seems pretty young. School's not for everyone, and he knows that. But he'd also known plenty of girls when he was growing up, smart girls who never even considered college as an option, because their families were too traditional or couldn't afford it, or because they just assumed they wouldn't fit in. Seems only right to make sure this girl's not letting anything like that keep her from throwing it in as an option. Especially since, from the sound of it, she doesn't have anything else lined up. ]

Wait, for real? 'Cause I will totally take you up on that and drag you around the store with me if you're not careful, I'm indecisive as hell and I've got no decorating skills, just none at all.

Is it?

[Kate perks up a bit. She'd already started taking college classes however she hadn't thought that it was still in the cards for her. She used to love learning and had been very good at school. Though she isn't sure what she was going to do outside of that.]

I'll admit. I'm not sure what I'd study.

[Her smile grows a bit.]

I wouldn't have offered unless I was ready to hold up my end of the deal.

See, but that's totally normal, I think a lot of people haven't got a clue when they start out. Just take a bunch of different stuff and see what sticks.

[ Cisco hadn't been one of those people - he'd always known what he wanted to do, just not if it was possible. It's only now that he's a little older that he realizes that that single-mindedness had been kind of a blessing in disguise. ]

Like, whatever it is you do for fun, there's probably some version of that that's a career. Like, for me, I was always taking stuff apart trying to figure out how it worked and like, see if I could turn a toaster into a robot. Boom! Mechanical engineering.

[ He grins when she says she is willing to do the rest of the shopping with him, and he wheels his cart in the direction of the desks and bookcases and the like. ]

[Kate laughs.]

I don't know why you'd want to turn a roaster into a robot. [She doesn't remember the last time she'd felt like laughing, let alone let the sound escape her lips.] Maybe historical studies or something like that. I always liked doing research and learning about everything I could. Though I did have someone teach me how to pick a lock. [That had been her start as a thief.

Kate follows behind him, silently grateful for the company. She finds it hard to be gloomy around Cisco.]

Okay, but like, why wouldn't you want to turn a toaster into a robot? Or, try, you know, because it's not really possible, there's just not enough of the necessary components there, by a long shot.

[ Maybe engineering is not for Kate, if she can't understand the intrinsic appeal of making shit into different shit. But from the sound of it there are other things she might be interested in that have some real potential. Cisco starts weaving his way through the desks, saying as he does: ]

So I'm looking for something pretty small, my room's not exactly gigantic.

[ He knows the exact measurements, but he doubts he'll really need them: he just needs to pick something relatively compact. And in the meantime, as he searches: ]

Okay, so it sounds like, maybe historian, maybe locksmith? I mean research can be about a lot of stuff, not just history. Even if you wanna stick with researching old stuff, there's archaeology, too. Actually I'm not really sure what makes archaeologists different from historians? Are they different?!

[Kate smiles, finding the mental image of a toaster turning into a robot interesting.] I never saw the Transformer movies. [She remarks casually as they make their way through the desks. She could understand the mechanics of objects, how they work and go together but she doesn’t have the sort of creativity that Cisco appears to have.

She lingers between desks before waving Cisco over to a small 3 foot by 18 inch black desk. It was simple, with a little shelf looking thing between the legs. Kate assumes it’s for a computer tower or something.]

What about this?

[She asks while thinking over her options.]

Not exactly like a locksmith. [Kate smiles, looking as if she’s sharing a private joke with herself.] Archaeologists are more concerned with uncovering history while historians learn the histories we already know. I’m sure there is more too it but I think that’s the idea. I would probably like Archaeology more though I’d feel a little obligated to buy a whip and a nice hat.

[Who doesn’t think of Indiana Jones when they think Archaeologist.]

Good, 'cause they're terrible. There's way better out there, if you're looking for action movies. And robot movies. And car movies to be honest.

[ Cisco doesn't have the world's highest opinion of Michael Bay, what can he say. He comes over to look at the desk she has chosen, making 'hmmm' noises of consideration and concluding: ]

I like it, but I'm thinking something with lighter wood? And a bit fancier? I mean... normally, I wouldn't care one way or another, believe me, most've my desks end up with scratches and scorch marks and pen all over them in about a day, but see... this guy I moved in with, you should see all his stuff. The apartment looks like a freakin' magazine, and he's totally doing me a huge favor letting me stay there, so I feel like I gotta up my game a little. Have classy adult furniture.

[ Cisco glances back into the cart, and then adds, with a conspiratorial little smile: ] Minus the space curtains.

[ He's sure that if Eddie were here, he'd insist that Cisco should just decorate however he wants, but Eddie's also too nice for his own good, and for all Cisco knows it would kind of bother him if he upsets the aesthetic too much. ]

Okay, so, scratch locksmith, substitute... cat burglar? [ He says it as a joke, mostly, but he does glance over, to see if maybe he's not that far off. He beams at the Indiana Jones reference (it's always so nice meeting people who have common points of cultural reference, and he doesn't have to stop and explain every other quote and joke). ]

I mean, obviously, yeah, but is that really a downside? Hell, this place has got a whole huge abandoned section of the city, and nobody's from here, who knows what kind of history you could uncover. If that's not asking for some Indiana Jonesing I don't know what is.

[Kate laughs and makes a mental note not to watch the Transformer movies. She rather likes Cisco's description anyway.]

So like that one over there? Do you think he will be that worried about the things you pick out for your room?

[She glances over to the space curtains and smiles.] I think you should be yourself around your friends. [Kate won't press the matter and it looks like they can find a small desk that's similar to the first one she found but nicer. It has a darker wood for the drawers and a lighter wood for the frame. It looks more sophisticated though Kate isn't sure if she likes it.]

I'd need a partner if I became a thief. [Kate meant it as a joke but it's hard to erase the sadness from her voice. It makes her think of the last time she saw Seth, walking along the road. She hopes he's okay, wherever he is.

Kate snaps out of her thoughts and looks over at Cisco.] I'll find something. I'm not in a rush and I think I'll look at some classes too. [She smiles a little brighter.] I'll look into becoming like Indiana Jones. The girl version.

[ Cisco goes over to look at the desk she'd pointed to, and it is much closer to what he'd been looking for: modest in size, still, but a touch heavier, a bit more old-fashioned, with a slightly worn walnut-colored wood. ]

It's perfect. [ And he picks up the rather heavy box with the disassembled version of the desk, lifting it up and into the cart with only a small amount of difficulty. Gives him a moment, anyway, to think over his answer to her question about whether Eddie actually cares what kind of furniture he gets. ]

I mean, maybe. I don't know. He's super nice, so probably not. I'm just worried about screwing things up, I guess.

[ The way she says what she does about needing a partner in crime if she's going to be a thief is... not quite the tone Cisco would expect for an offhand joke that really is just a joke and nothing more. Maybe the person who taught her to pick locks really was a thief. Which... is a little worrying. Cisco's not above a little rule-breaking now and then, but this girl's too young and too nice to be getting mixed up in a life of crime. ]

Hell yeah. Kate-iana Jones, action archaeologist. Just be careful of snakes.

[ He wheels the cart in the direction of lamps and light fixtures, talking as he goes: ]

So I'm guessing you're from Earth, since you know what Transformers are. Where you from, more specifically?

[Kate moves out of the way when he lifts the box and waits. She'd offer to help but it looks like he has it handled and sometimes you can help by simply remaining out of the way.]

Screwing things up? [She asks with a curious raise of her brow. It sounds like someone he likes though Kate doesn't want to presume. She's about to inquire further when he mentions snakes.

Her smile drops.

Seth, the man who had taught her to pick locks had been a thief. He'd been the only person to come out of Twisters alive with her. Her brother and Seth's brother had both turned into Culebra's; a snake like vampire. She should have realized that Indiana Jones talk would lead to snakes but it'd completely escaped her mind.]

Yeah. Oh, I'm from Bethel, Texas. Don't know if you've been down that way.

[She doesn't have the accent of someone from Texas.]

Oh, uh- [ Cisco breaks off into a quiet laugh, a touch of nervousness in it. He can tell she means no harm at all by the question, but at the same time it's hard to answer. It's not exactly simple, or a good idea, to explain to a total stranger that he pretty much thinks of himself as naturally unlikeable, that he worries about alienating people merely by existing. No, there's really no way to say that. ] -yeah, just. Y'know. A person who worries.

[ But thankfully she doesn't keep poking at it, because the mention of snakes seems to kind of shake her a little. Maybe she's actually afraid of them? He can't imagine she didn't get the reference. He hastens to add: ] I'm pretty sure real archaeologists don't run into a lotta snakes. Or Nazis. I'm pretty sure most of it is like, brushes and tiny chisels, not gunfights or car chases...

[ He hasn't heard of Bethel before, but it sounds like the kind of place name that would fit well enough in the world he was used to. It's always such a strange thing, trying to determine if someone is from the same world as him. ]

Central City, Missouri. Never been to Texas in my life. But... I haven't been a lot of places, so that's not saying too much.

[Kate forces her lips into a smile. It's very hard to describe why snakes bother her. It isn't that they scare her, no, there is only one thing that scares Kate now and it can't touch her here. Snakes, Twister, the Gecko's: any time she thought of them dark memories would rise.

While she's here, she almost forgot the life she'd left behind. A part of her knew she shouldn't forget. Her brother needs her and Richie... she has to apologize to him. She doesn't know how. If she returns she'll be dead but she feels that she needs too.] That's good to know. Still work a try. Who knows, a car chase might be fun. [She smiles a little more earnestly this time.]

You shouldn't worry. You're more amazing than you realize Cisco. [Kate has a talent for seeing the good in people.] I've never been outside of Texas until recently. Never been to Missouri. I think I've heard of Central City. I guess that's a little like Chicago big, right? [She isn't 100% sure.]

Oh, right. [Back on task.] What do you need next?

[ When she says car chases might be fun, Cisco grins, nods a little as if in concession. Of the weird and exciting things that have happened in his life recently, he's still never been in a car chase. He's been in a van that was racing to get to a bomb before it detonated, but, not quite the same thing. Probably it would be terrifying, in reality, but it IS kind of fun to imagine.

Her comment that he is amazing definitely strikes Cisco as odd - he even does a little double take, a tiny crease forming between his brows, waiting for her to turn that statement into a joke or something. But she doesn't, and he's left a little flattered and a little uncomfortable at the same time. Which is not Kate's fault, really. Just his low self-esteem and paranoia getting the better of him. He brushes it off, but files it away for later. ]

Little smaller than Chicago. It's the one with all the metahumans.

[ That would probably be a pretty good metric, to tell how different her world might be from his. Everybody knew about metahumans existing, even if they didn't understand them at all. ]

I need lamps. One for the desk and some I can install overhead. I don't want anything too fancy...

[She points over to where there are a bunch of floor lamps on display, as well as lights hanging from the ceiling. Kate assumes that they have desk lamps there too. All the lamps on currently plugged in and on, making it the brightest display in the store.]

Metahumans?

[Light green eyes look over at Cisco curiously as she makes her way towards the next area as she continues.] I don't think I've heard of the term. [Then again, she hasn't exactly been keeping up on the news. She has a guess of what they are and she wonders if Culebra would count.]

I don't know if there are desk lamps here but there are hanging ones.

Edited 2017-07-20 02:50 (UTC)

Yeah. People with abilities, you know, like the Flash? [ When he sees no recognition in her expression, he nods, like his theory has been confirmed: ] Yep, we're definitely from different universes. Which is something that probably sounds super weird to you, now, but you'll get used to it once you've been here a while.

[ He comes over to examine some of the lights near where Kate is standing, and has to squint a little bit; they really aren't kidding with this section, are they? Cisco chooses fairly quickly, this time: three very basic, intensely bright fluorescent lights that are meant to be affixed to a ceiling and, on a lower shelf, a only slightly less blinding desk light to mach. He knows himself, knows he'll end up doing work in his bedroom even when he has a perfectly good lab, and so he'll want to be able to see what he's doing properly. ]

Metahumans are basically people with powers. Running really fast, controlling the weather, turning their body into steel, that kind of thing. They got comic books in your world? It's pretty much like that.

[ He shrugs; he's found that that explanation usually works, here, for people who come from places without guys like Barry. ]

Sounds like our worlds are pretty similar, though. They've both got Texas, anyway. And Indiana Jones.

[Kate shakes her head.] I'm getting used to weird. [She should be dead right now but she isn't. After that, it's hard to deny that anything could be true.]

It sounds like an interesting place. Are there a lot of these Metahumans?

[The more he describes it the more she thinks about the Culebra's and her brother. Part of her mind thinks about Richie too and then Seth but it's a darker, sadder part of herself that she doesn't know if she's ready to face. She isn't running away, she just needs time. 'There is no more love.' Kate wonders if she really believed that.]

I don't know much about different worlds or comics but it's nice to know that they aren't too different. [She flashes him a friendly smile.]

[ Cisco's brows lift just a touch, but his expression is amused. She sounds so serious about it, but it's hard to know if that slight touch of drama is a result of her age or if her life had just become spectacularly weird before the portal and this place ever got involved. He's learned not to make assumptions. ]

You mean before you got here, or since then?

[ Her comment about it being an interesting place earns a little snort from Cisco, as if that's the understatement of the century. Kate's question is easy enough to answer: ]

We calculated it was about 1% of the city's population that got turned into metas. Which is still about three or four thousand. Guess it's up to you whether you think that's a lot or not.

[ He walks with Kate in the direction of room decorations, next: little rugs, mirrors, posters, all of that. Cisco stops to just stare at it all for a moment - this is the stuff that really matters, that will really make his new room feel like a kind of home. ]

Definitely not too different. You wouldn't believe how hard it's been to adjust to half the people here not understanding my Kanye jokes. That's like, half my repertoire!

[Her life has really gotten that spectacularly weird.]

Before I got here.

[Kate says with a practiced smile. She doesn't know if she can talk about everything but some things come easier: talking about her brother or the culebra are usually the easier topics to attempt to breach.]

It sounds like a lot.

[Her expression softens.] It must be hard to feel different like that. High school was bad enough, I can't imagine it with powers that others don't have.

[Kate's smile returns as she looks back over at Cisco briefly.] Kanye is half? How much can you say about him?

[open] it's time to tip it off

ii. nesting

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