OPEN | i wanna be where the people are

[franciscoramon]

who: cisco + anyone!
what: catch-all
when: mid-april through may
where: anywhere; if you want an individual starter lmk!
warnings: will add as necessary

fireflies

[ When Cisco had gone firefly catching, he had been intending to study them - do a few modest experiments, see if he could figure out what was making them light up in so many colors. He has a scientist's curiosity, and needed something to get his creative gears going.

The trouble was, it didn't really take the scientific method to realize pretty soon that those fireflies not only bit (which is just so rude), but that their bite had some pretty serious impact on people's moods. It reminds Cisco of Rainbow Raider, and how he'd used color to send people into paroxysms of murderous rage. At least this isn't that bad - but the effects are still profoundly inconvenient.

The trouble is, knowing they might make his emotions go haywire didn't actually make him want to study them any less. In fact, quite the opposite. He wants to know how. But there's no good way to determine that without being around the damn things, so basically, that just means getting bit. A lot. And trying his best to manage the fallout. But, there's only so much avoiding he can do - he's bound to run into some people while tweaking on firefly magic. ]

moontech lab

[ Cisco's been settling in nicely at his job since his arrival. He's gotten things set up how he likes them - or at the very least, tolerably close to it. He's talked to a few members of the perimeter guard, the police force, and the firefighters, and he has a good idea of what they need. He's working on some interesting ideas for tech to keep them safe.

But he's also not hesitating to put the word out - to his roommates, and other random people that he speaks to - that if anyone needs a tech solution to any kind of confounding problem, that they should come and see him at the lab and see what he can whip up for them. Cisco might charge a nominal fee - guy's gotta eat, after all - but is aiming to make connections rather than make a profit. He knows from experience how important it can be to make friends, to have allies, and making stuff for people has proved to be a good way to do that in the past.

He can be found at the lab, surrounded by tables covered in bits and bobs - wires and circuit boards and tools and a laptop or two buried under things. ]

misc

[ Cisco isn't someone who does well with idleness. Sure, he appreciates the necessity of goofing off, of not working nonstop, but usually his leisure is busy - he's either marathoning some sci-fi show or playing his way through the newest triple a game in a single day, or devouring the latest science journals by the dozen, or going to clubs to dance until he can barely stay on his feet.

The trouble here is that here, a lot of those options aren't really open to him. So he ends up taking over a table at a coffee house that reminds him, just a little, of Jitters. He may stay there for hours on end, watching the people go by, but he is not wasting time. Cisco's brought a journal or two that he's using to sketch out designs for tech, to write down observations and theories about this place, and take notes on the few people he has met so far. Honestly, if anyone looked in them they'd probably find it a little creepy, but everyone acclimates in different ways. This is his.

Still, he has a smile to offer anyone who looks familiar or stops by his table to check in. ]

Comments

fireflies

[naz]

[ The firefly phenomenon is more than a little fascinating. Given her own background, she's curious how the bites actually do have the effect on people — herself included, admittedly, a time or two — that they have. When she learned that Cisco was studying them, she immediately wanted in and she still does, so she stops by to join him in the attempt to catch more of them to research.

She's thinking the more of them they can catch, the better, and not only do they have to study the fireflies themselves, but Caitlin is not opposed to using each other as test subjects, so to speak, by letting the different colored bugs bite them and then take blood and tissue samples and running brain scans to see what kind of molecular and neurological level changes are taking place in their bodies after the bites.

Leave it to Caitlin to be entirely too enthusiastic about the idea of working on her day off. With a jar in hand, she grins at her friend and holds it up, wiggling it slightly just in case he missed it. ]

Ready when you are. I was thinking we should run some tests on 'victims,' for lack of a better word, of the fireflies. How do you feel about letting them bite us, taking turns, until we've tested after all the different colors...?

[franciscoramon]

[ It might seem like a dangerous or odd arrangement to someone else - someone who didn't know how much deeper the bond went between Caitlin and Cisco than mere coworkers, or even team members. Or someone who was used to conducting science in a slow, institutional setting. But the both of them have gotten used to playing things a bit fast and loose, and sometimes that means minorly inconveniencing themselves. Or using themselves as test subjects. If Cisco hadn't been cool with it, he wouldn't have invited her here in the first place.

So when she proposes using themselves as subjects, Cisco starts rolling up a sleeve, holding out his forearm in her direction, volunteering to be first. But he's going to grumble about it, too. ]

Sounds like a whole barrel of laughs.

[ He lets out a long breath, looking at the jar Caitlin is holding. He'd managed to separate out the fireflies into different containers according to color - she's got the jar of purple fireflies in her hands right now. Cisco thinks back to when he had been collecting them with Eddie and says: ]

Obviously we gotta get samples and run tests under the influence of each of them, but it's gonna take a while. Last time I got bit, it lasted hours. And I don't know which one it was - the purple one or the yellow one or maybe both - but it made me, like...

[ It shouldn't be hard to say it; this is Caitlin after all. But finding the actual words to sum up the experience is strangely difficult. Cisco flounders for a moment before settling on: ]

...panicky. Like, hear a weird sound coming from the kitchen at 3am after a whole day of marathoning Criminal Minds kinda panicky. So lemme do both of those, okay?

[ Cisco says it like it's a given, that if there's a particular kind of firefly whose effect he knows is deeply unpleasant, he should be the one subjected to it, not Caitlin. It doesn't even register to him as something selfless - it's just how he thinks. It's what friends are for. ]

[naz]

[ Caitlin thinks that maybe half the reason she and Cisco get along so well and have grown so close over the years is because they're equally as willing to scrap the "by the books" way of doing things when it benefits them to think outside the box. In this case, using themselves as test subjects is better than subjecting volunteers to the effects and they don't have to worry about how they react to the bites, because they're best friends. They know each other. They love each other. How could this possibly go wrong? Even if the effects of one or more of the fireflies turns one of them into something nasty and mean...well. Cisco's seen Caitlin as Killer Frost and he still cares about her. If he can endure Killer Frost and not kick their friendship to the curb, then she's not worried about a little firefly bite. Obviously, she intends to return the favor to Cisco.

So it's just better to do it this way and, therefore, she's not surprised when, in spite of his whining about it, Cisco holds an arm out. With a little laugh, Caitlin shakes her head. ]

Well, it'll be a whole barrel of something, I'm sure.

[ Caitlin grins, reaching for the red jar, thinking that maybe it would make the most sense to just follow the visible spectrum of light in order, as far as colors go, so that they don't lose their spot, but then Cisco goes on and she pauses to look back at him, lifting her eyebrows curiously.

He's already been bitten and gotten some apparently negative effects, judging by the way he trails off briefly. An expression of sympathy creeps into her features when he explains and she reaches for his hand, giving it a squeeze. ]

You know, let's just...we'll start with purple and see what happens.

[ She isn't willing to agree outright not to be the one to take the ugly reaction, but she's willing to let him volunteer , at least, for one of them because she knows Cisco and he knows her. They'll be here arguing all day if she doesn't. It's just the way he is: he's always been protective of her, especially after Ronnie's apparent death in the Particle Accelerator explosion. Sometimes, Caitlin feels like she needs that in her life, because she hasn't any siblings to do it and her relationship with her parents is...well. She appreciates Cisco for it and she isn't willing to argue over it just to rob him of the one thing they can consistently offer one another: protection from the little things they can control. ]

All right... [ Caitlin selects the purple jar rather than the red and decides they can work backwards, in that case. ] Hold this, I'm going to cover up more so that we're sure the only person it can bite right now is you.

[ She moves away from him then and it takes her a moment to find the beekeeper outfit she'd brought to the lab specifically for this purpose. It's big enough for Cisco, since they'll have to switch off — she might have been planning on his saying yes to her experiment, because well. That's just how they do things — so she's sort of swimming in it when she takes the jar back from him.

When she speaks again, it's to her cell phone, asking it to record her notes. She starts with listing off the date and time and the name of the experiment. ]

Test One: Purple. Subject: Male, 26. ...that sounds so clinical... Cisco. Subject: Cisco.

[ She gives him a sheepishly apologetic look and shrugs before gesturing to the jar and then telling the recording to pause. ]

Go ahead and open it. Just remember, no matter what happens, I'm right here and I'm not going to leave you or let anything bad happen to you. Okay? We'll catch the fireflies again once they bite you and jar them up again so I can get out of this suit and then...we wait.

[franciscoramon]

[ Cisco hadn't thought he was really in need of reassurance; but as he's standing there, holding the jar, and Caitlin says what she does, he smiles softly. How does she always know just what to say to make him feel better? How is it Caitlin's always been much better than almost anyone else at seeing when Cisco - usually the giver of pep talks - needs one of his own. ]

I'll remember.

[ With that, he twists the lid off the jar and shakes it a little to get the fireflies out. And then, Cisco immediately goes about trying to catch them and put them back - if experience has taught him anything, it's that they don't want to be caught, and that going after then will precipitate a bite pretty quickly.

And he is not wrong - he's gotten three of them back into the jar when the forth narrowly avoids his hand and then lands on the back of his wrist, and Cisco feels a sudden, sharp prick of pain. ]

Ow! Augh, yep, that's it, one of 'em got me. Time to...

[ It takes the both of them five or so minutes to gather up the rest of the freed purple fireflies and guide them into the jar, and all the while Cisco is thinking about how warm his wrist feels, how the vague tingling feeling from it seems to be spreading up his arm. ]

You should probably do- take a few temperature readings, see if it changes over time. I'm starting to feel kinda warm.

[naz]

[ Caitlin takes Cisco's cue when he starts immediately trying to wrangle the fireflies. It occurs to her a little belatedly that trying to capture them again might be more effective in riling them up enough to bite him than letting them fly around and do so at their own leisure. It isn't as though they're on a time crunch or anything, but she's thinking Cisco's got the right idea.

It doesn't take them too long before they've rounded up the last of the purple fireflies and Caitlin takes the jar back from him, securing the top and setting it down on the counter so that she can get out of the beekeeper suit. ]

Does it hurt more than a normal bug bite?

[ She figures that's something that ought to be noted, if so.

She's already starting to fold the beekeeper suit and move on to start getting together the tools she'll need to take Cisco's vitals. She probably should've taken them before they started, as well, but she figures when he levels out in a few hours, she can take them, then, and it'll be about the same as his normal vitals would be, anyway. ]

Already working on it.

[ She tells the cell phone to start recording again.

Caitlin pushes a small cart up to him and sits down on a stool beside him, first taking his temperature and dictating that the the phone. Then she checks his pulse, takes his blood pressure, and runs through a a battery of neurological tests, dictating each result into the phone. ]

So how are you feeling right now, Cisco? Warm... Anything else?

[ Next, she moves away from him to go retrieve what she needs to take a blood sample. ]

[spellslots]

[It hadn't taken Taako long to figure out that Cisco was pretty hype about the whole elf thing, which is cool, whatever, but it seemed more sensible to give the rundown in person rather than over text. It takes a while to wrangle a time that works for both of them, but they get there eventually. Cisco suggests coffee, but Taako decides to one up that by texting Cisco the location to the espresso martini bar he recently discovered.

It's late enough in the afternoon that drinking is acceptable, but not so late that he felt the need to get too dressed up, which means black skinny jeans and patterned blouse, neither of which match the umbrella hooked over the back of his chair, but that doesn't bother him.

He'd gotten there a little early and has already acquired a drink (it has candy around the rim and he loves it), so now he just has to wait. Between the ears and his hair, Taako knows he's pretty hard to miss; he doubts Cisco will have much trouble finding him.]

[franciscoramon]

[ It had certainly never crossed Cisco's mind that this is the kind of meet-up where he might want to spruce up a little bit - he has a touch more style than your average engineer, but his wardrobe in this place is still pretty limited. He's saving up to get a room of his own, and that doesn't leave a whole lot of budget for shopping - not yet, at least. Still, he had found at least a few acceptably nerdy outfits within his budget, so he doesn't look like too much of a square when he shows up to meet Taako.

And it really is a piece of cake, finding him in the bar - would be even if he hadn't sent Cisco a selfie during that first conversation of theirs. Cisco comes over quickly, holding out his hand for Taako to shake and just beaming all over. How, exactly, he manages to somehow smile with his whole body is really a mystery that science has not yet been able to explain. But he does it. ]

Hey, you actually came! That's awesome. And this place looks dope.

[ Cisco holds out a hand for Taako to shake, and without any further preamble, asks: ]

So is it Tay-koh or Tah-koh or Tay-koo or... ?

[ Maybe it's a little awkward, asking him right off the bat, but Cisco just wants to make sure he gets it right. Goodness knows he'd spent the better part of his childhood with people butchering the pronunciation of his own name, and he knows just how irritating it can get. ]

[spellslots]

[The way Cisco smiles reminds him of Magnus almost immediately, that whole body enthusiasm that only Mags can seem to pull off. It's cute, and it's likely to make Taako a little more inclined to be nice.]

Tah-ko. [Despite the air he might give off, and the neatly painted nails, Taako's hands are calloused and his handshake is firm.] And of course it's dope, I chose the place.

[Being humble is not his strong suit.]

[franciscoramon]

Right. Taako, got it.

[ Cisco for once manages a little bit of self restraint and asks, before launching into any kind of joke: ]

I'm sure if you've met people from Earth they've probably told you your name sounds a whole lot like a kind of food, which is pretty funny actually since you said you're a chef. Unless they've got tacos where you're from, too, in which case your parents had it out for you when they named you, man.

[ He says it all fairly rapidly, and is happy when one of the employees - bartender? barrista? - comes by to ask what he wants. ]

Same as him, thanks.

[ Can't go wrong copying someone else's order, right? Besides, the thing's covered in candy, Cisco definitely wants to try it. And Taako's lack of humility certainly doesn't seem to bother Cisco; he raises his eyebrows, expression something close to is that so? ]

So you're the one I should hit up if I wanna know all the cool places to check out?

• for peggy

[franciscoramon]

[ Cisco's still got no idea how this had happened. How he got put in charge of something as huge as outfitting the perimeter guard, the firefighters, and the police. Sure, okay, he was the metahuman consultant for the CCPD. He has experience designing tech in what could be generously called high-stress situations. He's got some skills. But Cisco's never not had a boss before. He's never been the lead engineer before - the lead anything before. At S.T.A.R. Labs and on Team Flash, he'd had Dr. Wells; at the CCPD there had been Joe and Captain Singh.

It all just feels like way too much responsibility if he stops to think about it. So his solution thus far has been to prevent thinking by simply not stopping. And it shows, in the state of his lab. He'd only just gotten here a month ago, but the place is jam-packed full of stuff: schematics, laptops, tools, half-built tech, abandoned projects, jars of candy, and one very overworked coffee pot.

He's known for a few days that the police are sending over a liaison that morning to talk about what they need, so he'd meant to tidy the place up. Really, he had. But he'd completely lost track of time trying to figure out how to boost the signals on the tiny trackers he was planning on outfitting the perimeter guards with, so they could monitor one another's locations. And soon enough it's been hours, and he hears a knock at the door. ]

It's open!

[mannerism]

[ these are uncharted waters for her, too. peggy spent so much of her time at the ssr fetching coffee and taking lunch orders, working behind the scenes rather than at the front. to be sent anywhere, to represent was never the kind of mission they would have given to a woman.

Quarantine was not a welcome change but the air of oppression isn't as thick here and peggy carter is the one sent to speak on the force's behalf.

with a man she had teased on the network once, weeks ago.

it's a fact she meant to reveal only later, they have never seen each other, after all. but her well-kept, put-together look speaks for itself; everything from the pencil skirt to the silk blouse to the victory curls speaks of another era.

still, she can't bring herself to lose sight of all those fashions. combined with heels and her signature red lipstick, she strides confidently to the laboratory. ]

Mister Ramon.

[ an Englishwoman, of all things, and maybe not the face one would think of when one considers the Riverview Police Force. Peggy crosses the room, ignores the mess entirely and offers him a hand. ]

Peggy Carter, Riverview Police, a pleasure.

[franciscoramon]

[ Cisco doesn't stare - not exactly - but there definitely is a brief moment when he looks at Peggy with speechless confusion. She is just... really not what he was expecting. In a lot of different ways. But he recovers himself quickly, hopping to his feet from the rolling chair and taking Peggy's hand, shaking it in a way that is much more enthusiastic than it is professional. They are roughly the same height - Peggy might have an inch or so on him in her heels, and Cisco is just about the opposite of well put-together. Different time, different profession. ]

Yeah, great to- wait, Peggy? Like, from the network?

[ The question is clearly just him voicing his thoughts out loud, rather than one he expects an answer to - it's clear from the change in his expression that he quickly takes in the details and realizes that this must be the same woman, and that is when his smile goes from polite to delighted. ]

Hey, welcome! Uh, have a seat if you want, and lemme just-

[ CIsco gestures to the chair he'd just vacated, which is the only one in the room. He then starts digging through the materials for the trackers, looking for something. He finds it with only a small amount of clattering and wincing; Cisco pulls free a pad of paper and a pencil. ]

Sorry. Lost track of time. I really need to get a clock in here...

[mannerism]

[ good lord, he seems to be having a small conversation with himself. Peggy arches an eyebrow as she takes a seat on the chair he offers her, ankles crossed - professional, proper. she does smile, however. ]

One and the same.

[ she looks around herself once more, takes one of the half finished trackers and inspects it. ]

Is it just you in here? Poor man, you seem overworked.

moontech lab

[signifies]

[ Cisco may have been partly joking about their need to stick together but Clark agrees with him. They should stick together and not because they're from similar worlds. Cisco seems like a sensible guy with a good attitude towards what's different from him. If anyone wouldn't be upset about an alien walking on Earth, it'd be him.

Clark doesn't expect to keep his secret for very long. People figure out soon enough. Despite that, he approaches the lab as Clark Kent.

He knocks on the door and peers over the tables. ]

Hello?

[franciscoramon]

[ Things here aren't quite the same as they were at S.T.A.R. Labs. For one thing, Cisco doesn't have access to half the equipment he did, there. And for another, random unexpected guests are not a source for alarm. Here, people are supposed to drop by - there are no superhero shenanigans to conceal, and no enemies to hide from (yet).

Still, it's force of habit that makes Cisco respond to the unexpected knock with perhaps more than the usual amount of fluster and surprise. He spins around in his chair, looking for the source of the greeting, and sees a man he's never met before. ]

Hey. You, uh, looking for me, or are you lost?

[ The guy looks friendly enough, at least; Cisco gets to his feet, comes a few steps closer, trying to place the face. He's met a lot of people since he arrived here, and sometimes it's hard to keep them all straight, but he's pretty sure he would remember meeting someone this tall. ]

[signifies]

[ Clark waits where he is to be invited in. He smiles warmly at him as Cisco approaches and holds out his hand. ]

I'm looking for a Cisco Ramon? My name is Clark.

[franciscoramon]

Oh!

[ The change in Cisco's expression when Clark introduces himself is drastic. This must be the Clark that he'd spoken to over the network, the reporter from Metropolis. Cisco shakes his hand enthusiastically, gesturing for him to come inside the lab. ]

Nice to meet you, man, make yourself at home.

[ Except Clark's actually ability to do so is probably at least somewhat impaired by the mess, and Cisco thinks that he really needs to get a second chair, so visitors don't have to stay standing or awkwardly peer up at him as they talk. Not that Clark was going to get a crick in his neck doing that - he really is very tall. Maybe that's only surprising because the only reporters that Cisco has known were tiny ladies like Iris and Linda Park. ]

So, this a social call or you here on business?

• for chandra

[franciscoramon]

[ It's just a sign of how much weirder his life has gotten that Cisco's excitement right now is this manageable. If it had been the Cisco from before the particle accelerator exploded, sitting here in this café, waiting to meet a pyromancer, he's pretty sure he wouldn't be able to sit still.

But he's seen one of his best friends fuse with another guy and fly through the air while shooting fire from his hands; after that, one's perspective tends to shift. Still, he's really looking forward to meeting Chandra and talking over what she can do; Cisco showed up early and has already ordered them both a pot of (decaf!) tea, and has doctored his with enough sugar and milk that some people probably wouldn't even classify it as tea at all. But she'd said no caffeine (and that is definitely one of those stories he's hoping to hear). ]

[firelogic]

*Chandra spends a moment looking around for Cisco when she arrives, sure she knows what he looks like from their video message, but meeting in person you see things like the back of people's heads and that does nothing to help recognize anyone. Chandra opted not to wear armor, instead going for a simple pale orange tunic and some shorts. Eventually she spots Cisco and runs over and sits down across from him.*

Um, hi! Ooh, tea.

*She'll just pour herself some... and then use her hand to heat the tea up to the temperature she likes. No big.*

[franciscoramon]

Chandra, hey, what's up.

[ It's just a subtle thing; if Cisco hadn't happened to be looking in the direction of Chandra's hands he wouldn't have noticed the tea going from warm but not steaming to steaming when she held it. ]

Okay, so that right there? That is awesome.

[ All good intentions about making small talk before he really dives into asking about her powers go right out the window. How could he not just jump right in, after seeing that? Cisco leans forward a little, hands splayed on the table and eyes bright. ]

Did you do that on purpose?

[firelogic]

Hmm. *Give her a moment.* Oh, yeah! That was on purpose. There's a level of control needed. When I was first learning I kinda made the tea into steam each time.

*People being so surprised-but-in-a-good-way about her powers was weird, she preferred people just being casual but the attention was kinda neat. Now that it wasn't 'kill you and your family' attention.*

I mean sometimes I just radiate heat, which isn't on purpose. But this isn't that.

• for yuri

[franciscoramon]

[ This is ridiculous. This is inhumane. This is not how a civilized society should be. ]

It doesn't have to be this brand. I mean... it's a super common brand and I kinda can't believe this is the third store I've asked at, but...

[ Anyone in the small shop would probably be able to hear him; Cisco isn't shouting or anything, because that's not the kind of guy he is, but he isn't trying to be quiet, either. The exasperation is clear both in the tone of his voice and the way he rubs a hand across his forehead, eyes slipping closed for a moment. ]

If you haven't got Cholula, do you have any kind of chili-lime hot sauce? Any at all?

[ He sounds like a guy at the end of his rope. Which... is about how he feels, too. ]

[bespredel]

[ With an armload of seriously questionably flavoured snacks- like cilantro cola- who the fuck would make cilantro cola???- Yuri couldn't help but overhear the other's bitching and moaning about a stupid god damn sauce. ]

Hey asshole, why don't you get the hell out of the way and let a paying customer through and quit your whining? If your stupid sauce is so damn important to you, why don't you start experimenting to make it yourself?

[ Honestly, Yuri thought he might have seen something... maybe similar to what the other was looking for- but that was a carrot he wasn't going to dangle just yet. ]

[franciscoramon]

[ The outburst is honestly so cartoonishly rude that Cisco bypasses offended and goes straight to confused. He raises his eyebrows and steps to the side, gesturing for the counter where the angry kid can put down the food and pay. There's something so overtly, exaggeratedly deferential about the movement that makes it just a touch mocking. ]

Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't realize you were in such a rush. You might wanna double check the shelf though, I think you missed some sardine-flavored chewing gum. Since clearly you've got a theme going here- [ Cisco waves a hand in the direction of the groceries Yuri is holding. ] -and that theme is nasty.

[ Now, the sarcasm might be dripping from the words, but Cisco isn't lying: he had seen fish-flavored gum on the shelf earlier. That's not the sort of thing a guy forgets. ]

[bespredel]

[ Yuri stomps to the opened space, and carefully places his armload of (yes, admittedly gross) groceries onto the conveyor belt. Scowling at the other, he shoved his hands into the front pockets of his leopard print accented hoodie, slouching slightly and sneering. ]

I do have a fuckin' theme, thanks for noticing dumbass. Congratulations for having working eyes in your skull. And as for the gum- I bought it at another store. One that might have had your stupid Chololo or whatever the fuck.