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

[signifies]

[ If Cisco had been talking to Lois, he might regret bringing up the subject. Clark can sense there's a story here.

It can wait until Cisco decides to tell him. If it was important or dangerous, he doesn't think Cisco would keep it to himself. ]

The same thing happened to me. I was looking for a new apartment after work and poof. I'm here.

[franciscoramon]

[ Cisco laughs, sympathy and just a tiny touch of bitterness in it. ]

Well, good news... you found a new apartment! Just not in the neighborhood you wanted, am I right?

[ He smiles, a little lopsided. Might as well see the humor in the situation.

That is at least one of the good things about this place; even when Cisco meets a stranger, he knows they have something in common. They were all brought here, all dealt with relocation and adjusting. ]

So did people freak out when an alien ship crashed? I mean, obviously, people freaked out, but like... was it only one? Was there some kind of invasion going on? How'd all that go down?

[signifies]

[ He chuckles along with Cisco. ]

Yeah.

[ When Cisco changes the subject, it's Clark's turn to get a little tense. ]

No, it was an invasion... of a sort. They had one ship, but it was equipped with powerful terraforming equipment. We were completely outclassed in terms of weaponry and technology.

[ How long can he avoid mentioning they're Kryptonian, like him? ]

[franciscoramon]

[ Cisco definitely notices that Clark seems a bit more serious when he's talking about the alien situation, but he thinks absolutely nothing of it. Chances are it wasn't exactly a fun day for anyone involved, so a little bit of tension is to be expected. ]

Terraforming? Man, they came ready. That's... terrifying. What was their deal? Just imperialist bullshit on an interplanetary scale? Was that the first time people found out about aliens?

[ Cisco knows that it is a barrage of questions, and probably a few of them are unwelcome, but... it seems important, to know these kinds of things. And Clark hasn't stopped him yet, so until he does, he's just going to keep on asking. But tactfully. His voice is a little lower as he asks: ]

Did a lot of people get hurt? And, uh, how'd you stop them, anyway?

[ By 'you' he means the people of Clark's Earth, of course - he doesn't think a simple reporter contributed that much. ]

[signifies]

[ He can't begrudge someone's curiosity, and it's also not like Cisco is knowingly asking this of Kal, who was openly involved.

Clark gives himself a moment to consolidate his thoughts. ]

Yes, it was our Earth's first contact with an extraterrestrial civilization. They were the last survivors of their planet, looking for somewhere that could support them. There wasn't anything wrong with Earth, but they felt they should re-shape its natural environment to be like their lost home.

[ He feels bitter. Clark is a stoic person, preferring to relate the facts, but even he can't stop a little of it from being in his voice.

Nothing was going to bring Krypton back and there was nothing wrong with adapting to Earth. ]

As I understand it, a special task force from the military sent them into another dimension. [ He swallows then continues: ] There were a lot of casualties. One of the terraforming machines was over downtown Metropolis.

[franciscoramon]

[ Cisco waits without signs of impatience as Clark decides what he's going to say. It's probably just because of the fictional alien-encounter stories he's used to, but he was expecting something a little more black-and-white than the situation Clark relates. Once Clark is done speaking CIsco says, voice a little softer than before: ]

That's really sad.

[ It sounds... real. Like the kind of real you see reading history books, thinking about all the miscommunications, and missed opportunities, and useless waste of lives. Cisco doesn't know how big a terraforming machine is, but he imagines even if it were fairly small, falling down in a crowded urban area would do a lot of damage. A lot. More than the particle accelerator exploding. Probably even more than the singularity. ]

Don't get me wrong: it's totally awful they showed up and tried to change the Earth, but I hope... whatever dimension they ended up in, they found a place to live where they wouldn't have to attack the native population, and that wouldn't, like, blow up or whatever happened to their last planet.

[ A cynical part of Cisco tells him that those aliens probably didn't learn from their mistakes, probably just went on causing trouble and death and chaos, but... since when has it hurt to hope? ]

Were you in Metropolis? When it all went down?

[signifies]

I feel the same way.

[ He remembers all of Zod's words. "We could have built Krypton again in this squalor." The problem is Clark doesn't have much to go on. His father and Zod were both nostalgic for something that didn't exist anymore. They held on to the good parts of their memories. The difference was that Jor-El chose to become a memory at the same time his planet did. Zod survived, and it destroyed his spirit.

Cisco's understanding means a lot. It was real and complicated. Clark knows humans won't see it that way. He doesn't expect them to. They were attacked and they had a right to defend themselves. ]

Yes, I was. [ He shrugs a little. ] Looking for a job so I could move there.

[franciscoramon]

[ As much as he had joked about it being the offer of food that makes him want Clark as his friend, in actuality, Clark's quiet agreement is one of the first moments when Cisco thinks that he seems like a genuinely good person. Even as he had said what he did, Cisco had been wondering if he would be as generous, if it had been his world, his city that got messed up. Would he be bitter, and angry, and not have cared that the aliens were refugees? He doesn't know, can't know.

But Clark seems to really mean it when he says he feels the same way, and that makes Cisco think that ,probably, he has a pretty decent moral compass. ]

Oh? Where you from, originally?

[ Ironically, it's a question that Cisco is asking because he wants to move the conversation away from topics that might be fraught or unpleasant for Clark. ]

[signifies]

[ Hopefully Cisco doesn't feel bad about it later.

Clark's more than happy to talk about something else. ]

I'm from Kansas, actually. [ He'd like to lighten up the mood. ] Should I click my heels three times and see what happens?

[franciscoramon]

[ Cisco grins, then leans over to check out what kind of shoes Clark is wearing. When he sees that they are indeed rather nondescript shoes without a single red sequin, he sighs and shakes his head sadly as if a good idea has been foiled. ]

I mean, you can give it a try, but I'm not sure you've got the right footwear for it, buddy.

[ He finishes up his food and tucks away the trash, saying as he does: ]

Kinda funny, though. You're from Kansas, and I was living in Missouri, and now the both of us are over the rainbow.

[ Cisco casts a quick look around the lab, then asks: ]

Wanna see what I've been working on? They've got me designing toys for the emergency services people and I've got some pretty rad ideas. I promise I won't use the word 'quantum' too many times.

[signifies]

[ He turns his shoe to the side for Cisco to have a better look, and chuckles at his joke. ]

Yeah, kinda.

[ Clark pockets the unused napkins. He'd like there to be a next time. ]

I'd love to. If you want to feature any of them in the paper or need a brochure, I'd be happy to volunteer.