riverviewlogs | OPEN | i wanna be where the people are

Entry tags:

OPEN | i wanna be where the people are

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. ]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[ 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...?

[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.]

[ 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. ]

[ 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!

Edited 2017-05-05 14:57 (UTC)

[ 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.

[ 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. ]

[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.]

[ 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...

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?

[That was a whole lot of words, and Taako's smile is somewhere between bemused and fond, but at least he's keeping up.]

Yeah, yeah, I know about the taco thing. [He hums, amused.] they do not exist where I come from, so my parents get outta that one. Most humans don't mention it, you know? Either they're too polite or too chicken.

[Which means he's either calling Cisco rude or brave, but he'll leave that open for interpretation.]

[ 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?

[ 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.

[ 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.

But you've tried them, right? I mean, there's gotta be someplace on the moon that serves tacos. If not, I'll make you some myself. I might not be a chef, but I can at least do decent tacos. And if you want you can stand around and Gordon Ramsay me all you want.

[ And they're right back to where they started, when they had that conversation over the network. Only this time, Cisco's accustomed enough to Riverview that he follows his reference with an immediate explanation ]

He's a famous TV chef on my earth who goes to shitty restaurants and yells at the cooks for all of their terrible choices. Which sounds horrible but it's got a mad schadenfreude payoff.

[ The bar-ista brings Cisco his drink, and he immediately picks a couple pieces of candy from the rim and pops them into his mouth. ]

Yeaa, uh, polite's not really my strong suit.

[ Cisco gives a rather chagrined smile as he says that, tucking his hair behind his ear and shifting on his seat. Politeness is more than just consideration for other people - it requires knowing all the right social codes and being willing to follow them, even if it's boring and frustrating and even hurtful to others, and Cisco's not about that. He's not an asshole, but etiquette is something he's pretty much given up on. ]

So how does one get to be a celebrity wizard chef, anyway?

[Suddenly Taako understands how Merle and Magnus must feel when he goes off on a bit of a tangent without slowing down to breathe, though he does listen to Cisco with the same amount of grace that Merle and Magnus allow him when he spends five minutes talking about mongooses and emotions.]

First of all, I have had tacos, but I will not say no to trying your attempt. [Free food!!] Especially if you can track down episodes of this Gordon Ramsey show, it sounds a-ma-zing.

[Yelling at people for being terrible cooks sounds right up his alley, and while he decides to leave the politeness discussion for now (it's not really his strong suit, either). He will answer Cisco's question:]

Started off as a chef, had a show with a traveling caravan, worked my up to being just like, super famous and awesome. [Honestly, he tends to oversell just how "famous" he was, but no one needs to know.] I started learning magic to spice things up a little, it's way more interesting to pick up a pitcher of water and have it be wine when it hits the skillet, you know?

[ 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. ]

[ You'd think he would get used to the feeling of thoroughly embarrassing himself in front of people with more composure and professionalism than himself, but no. Never gets used to it. Cisco leans against a nearby table, fiddles with the pencil restlessly. ]

What? No no no, it's not that bad, I'm just- y'know, it takes a while to get settled in, and the truth is I think there's some folks around here who are s'posed to work for me, but I've got no idea why they put me in charge when I'm- I'm a total newbie, so I've kinda just been going it solo.

[ Which is probably way more information than she needed; it had been a conversational platitude, not an actual request for information or an invitation to talk about his uncertainty with his new job position. Get it together, Cisco. He finds a scrap of composure and forges on: ]

Anyway, that's... way more than enough about me. You're here to talk about gear for the police force, right?

[ 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.

[ 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. ]

Edited 2017-05-07 23:13 (UTC)

Definitely more. But it doesn't itch, exactly, so that's a plus.

[ Cisco takes a seat and waits while Caitlin de-beekeepers herself; the two of them fall into a rhythm that doesn't really need words. When Caitlin is taking out the blood pressure cuff, Cisco's already offering his arm. By the time she's got the cover on the thermometer, his mouth is open. They've done all this before at one time or another, but usually, Cisco's at least a little more impatient with it. Now, however? He doesn't really seem to mind so much. ]

Have I ever told you I love it when you get all doctor-y?

[ Cisco talks as Caitlin is readying the needle, holds out his arm without protest and doesn't even really wince - he's too busy smiling at Caitlin, shaking his head a little. ]

I mean, not if it's because Barry's full of shrapnel or Hatley tried to blow me up. But you're just so... I don't know. Professional.

[ But 'professional' somehow doesn't even begin to cover it. Cisco sighs, tries to think of the right words to use. After all... after all, Caitlin deserves all the praise in the world, but she's never been the sort of person who would ask for it. Or for validation, or compliments, or anything. That was Caitlin Snow - always giving, never asking for anything back. ]

I always really admired that. Like from the first time we ever met. I thought you must be way older than me, and not just 'cause you were already a doctor and you had this great fiancee and this awesome life. I figured anyone who was that professional had to have at least 10 years on me. Lemme tell you, when Ronnie told me your birthday that first time...

[ Cisco trails off, his hand coming up to touch his mouth. He's just made the connection, between what he's experiencing now and what he'd felt that first time he got bitten by some fireflies. It had taken him less time to notice, then, because he'd been with Eddie - it's harder to see, with Caitlin, who is already his best friend. ]

I think. This one maybe isn't the one that made me feel afraid. I think maybe it's making me, I don't know. Sappy? I dunno, I'm not usually a 'remember the good ole times' kinda guy.

[ An incredulous little laugh escapes Caitlin and her nose wrinkles a little as she rolls her eyes playfully at his comment about her being "doctor-y." She can honestly say that it's a new compliment, that's for sure. ]

Nope, I can't say that you have...

[ And okay, maybe it's a little weird that he's not whining, even playfully, throughout this process; he's actually being incredibly cooperative which...kind of isn't really like him. Even if he's never given Caitlin a hard time, he at least pretends to give her a hard time. This time, he's being proactive, even.

So when she moves away from him briefly after pressing a cotton ball to the puncture wound so that she can put away his blood sample, she lowers her voice and mentions it to the phone recording the process.

Then, she returns her attention back to him and smiles a little. Even if it's strange to hear the barrage of compliments coming from Cisco, she can't help appreciating them. It isn't often people compliment Caitlin Snow and she never, ever asks. Everybody needs to feel validated sometimes, so she just allows herself to appreciate the words pouring out of her best friend until he moves his hand to his mouth and she grins, eyebrows lifted. ]

There it is.

[ As in, he's noticed that he's acting a little less like himself than normal, as well. ]

Yeah, you're being really...well yeah. Sappy. And sweet. Which is not to say that you're not typically sweet, but this is maybe bordering on the kind of sweet you should probably save for Gypsy.

[ She's maybe a little thrown off by the saccharine attitude her friend is displaying and might have forgotten about their time difference. ]

For the record, though? Thank you. That was still really nice to hear. How long did you say this lasted the last time you were bitten?

[ Caitlin finally makes her way back over to settle on the stool beside him, giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze to remind him physically that she is, in fact, right here with him and isn't going to let anything bad happen. The second he starts to show any signs of a negative impact, she'll be working to negate it. ]

If I find a hookup for Kitchen Nightmares, you're my first call, promise. Probably be kinda fun, watching it with someone who knows a lot about food.

[ Cisco pauses long enough to take a proper sip of his drink, and to let Taako tell his story. And there's a lot of information packed in there. Traveling caravans are a thing, apparently, and Cisco can't help but thinking that the way Taako talks about being famous is surprising. Then again, who knows, maybe that's the way celebrities are in his world, too. The closest he's come to meeting any have all been important scientists like Martin Stein or Harrison Wells, and that's sort of a different vibe to begin with. ]

So is magic something anyone in your world can do? Is it only elves, or people with a genetic predisposition, or is it really just... whoever?

[ Cisco knows that using language like 'genetic predisposition is something of a conversational risk, but hey. They clearly have television in Taako's world, so there must be some understanding of science, right?

His voice goes wry as he adds: ]

That whole water-into-wine move's kinda trademarked where I come from.

[Watching Kitchen Nightmares with Taako will either be a nightmare in itself or hilarious, depending on whether Cisco enjoys petty commentary from an elf.]

Elves take to it more easily, like, most of us will know a cantrip or whatever, but yeah, theoretically any old thug can learn how to do magic. The whole world is magic and shit, all you gotta do is see it and shape it.

[He's teaching Eddie, who he knows is a friend of Cisco's, but he's not sure if that's something Eddie really wants other people to know, so he'll keep it to himself for the moment.]

I thought you guys didn't have magic, or is it a, uh, metahuman? That's the word, yeah?

Save for who now?

[ This isn't Cisco teasing, pretending not to know who she means - the question is genuine, and the look on Cisco's face completely bemused. He doesn't really have anybody in his life he would be saving his sweetness for, and he's definitely sure he's never met anybody named Gypsy before.

It's not hard to guess, what's happened. Caitlin is referring to something, someone, he's never met yet. She'd slipped up, and now she's going to refuse to explain, and the thing is, honestly, Cisco gets that. But it doesn't stop it from being frustrating. And it doesn't stop him, in his somewhat compromised state, from leaning forward and resting his head in his hands, lamenting: ]

I hate this stupid mismatched timelines thing. I feel like there's this distance now between us and I can't even fix it.

[ There's no solution, and Cisco knows that. But he doesn't want Caitlin knowing more about his future than he knows, himself. Doesn't want her hiding things and maybe even lying sometimes and saying it's for their own good. All that is Dr. Wells stuff, not Caitlin stuff.

But what can they do? ]

I don't know. Maybe an couple hours? I had a double whammy then, though. Maybe it'll wear off faster with just one.

[ It actually takes Caitlin a second to process what just happened. She mentioned Gypsy, Cisco doesn't know who Gypsy is. Once the realization hits her, Caitlin's face starts to warm, going pink around her cheeks and ears and she looks apologetically back at him, shaking her head. ]

Crap, I'm sorry... I didn't... I forgot there's...

[ She trails off then, looking genuinely sorry because she can't say anything. She can't explain. Caitlin can't tell Cisco what she's talking about and even without the boost from a bug bite, she's feeling that same distance and the same melancholy that goes with it. ]

I know, I do too. It really sucks. And I want to tell you...I want to tell you everything but I'm afraid to because...

[ She sighs. ]

I don't want to tell you something that ends up changing your whole timeline. It could happen and I don't want to do that to you. I'll try to remember to be more careful with what I say.

[ At that, she takes Cisco's hand, drawing it away from his face and gives it what she hopes is a reassuring squeeze. At least these effects won't last too long, because it's probably only compounding what he's feeling right now with regard to her slip up. ]

Okay, well...I guess now we just wait and see.

[ She makes small talk with him for a while, trying to pull their conversation away from the time and experienced wedged between them and toward the fact that they're building a new experience here together and how that's what's really important. She might have even playfully nudged him to tell her more about how great her doctoring skills are just to try to make him laugh at her for feigning that particular neediness.

Before they know it, he seems to have leveled out and Caitlin goes back through the barrage of tests, draws more blood, and walks Cisco through the process of the neurological tests before prepping a new syringe for her own blood samples. ]

All right, suit up. My turn. I'll draw my own blood but you're going to have to do everything else. Questions before we get started?

[ Admittedly? She's a little nervous. ...a lot nervous. She's incredibly nervous because she has no idea what the little blue bug is going to do to her, she just knows that it's likely to be something that has the potential to be embarrassing. ]

Ready when you are.

Edited 2017-05-08 00:46 (UTC)

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