franciscoramon | riverview ∆ ic inbox ∆ @ciscodelamancha

sure, that's definitely a universal experience

[ He's joking, too, but he doesn't mind a bit of a preamble. He's pretty curious now what the request is going to be. Rollerblades? Hovering rollerblades?

Or something completely different ]

holy shit
okay yeah sounds like you're definitely gonna need some better protective gear
HOW did you get a hundred microfractures?
also do you, like, need to go to the hospital?

the how is kind of still up in the air
but i have at least sought medical attention
good doc frankie gave me a house call

( to be fair, skye doesn't entirely understand her own powers yet. she knows she can make things shake, that with careful application she can essentially shove energy towards something else, but the how and why has not yet come to light. that level of familiarity will take more careful testing, and without gear to protect herself, she just can't risk that yet. hence: cisco. )

i'm still trying to figure out the whole thing, tbh
there's no 'i can do weird shit for dummies' book on kindle yet

so the 'how' is a mystery?
you're not punching through concrete walls or anything like that?

i know i'm just some guy you've never met but i'm not being nosy
the more i know the better chance i have of being able to make you something that'll help

[ And oh, that last bit sounds pretty painfully familiar. Cisco had been there. He doesn't understand his powers perfectly, yet, but he's come a long way and he remembers feeling that deep, uncomfortable confusion and dread. So he knows, the right thing to do right now is not to hide that. ]

oh, i've been there before
believe me
i got the t-shirt and everything.

few questions:
1) how new are your powers?
2) do you know where they came from?
3) there any pattern you've noticed that triggers them?

[ Probably, it would be better if this whole thing were formal, if there were some set list of questions. Procedures. But Cisco's never been one for formal, and in a way that might be easier, for some people anyway. ]

4) what's my refrigerator got to do with it?

i've been trying to practice
wally's been teaching me a few things, but i want to be able to control it on my own too

the doc said i might have redirected the vibrational flow inwards

( it's hard to explain. she never knows quite where to start, or how to separate her own emotions from the timeline of facts and figures, so skye mostly flounders when it comes time to tell people The Real Shit. cisco's questionnaire, though? surprisingly helpful. )

1. before i got here? a couple of days, maybe a week? i was pretty out of it for a while.
2. a creepy alien city put me in a rock cocoon and then puked me out? i don't know, tbh
3. freaking out. fear. panic. anger. i can summon it sometimes, but then i can't control it. obviously that's not working out super well.
4. you better go catch it

[ As soon as Cisco reads that her powers have to do with a 'vibrational flow' he wants to text right back, interrupt, ask more questions, but he forces himself to be patient. He doesn't want to spook her off. He thinks that might be a good instinct, too - she is very new to having powers, apparently. And, unlike anybody else that Cisco has met in this place, her powers weren't gained by years of study of magic, or inherited along with other DNA. They were the result of something being done to her, without her choosing it.

Cisco knows all too well how that feels, too. ]

your powers have to do with directing vibrations?
that sounds... pretty similar to mine, actually
i wonder if wally was thinking that too

[ Wally knows what Cisco can do, after all. Cisco wouldn't put it past him, to set all this up, knowing Cisco might have more help to give than just some tech (though he can offer that too) ]

so, lemme make sure i got this straight: you're not exactly sure how your powers work, except that you had no powers, and a few days ago you were in an alien (!!!) city that did something weird to you with rocks, and now you can control vibrational energy, and intense negative emotions make your powers act in ways you can't control and it's hurting you? have i got that right?

AND you totally got me with that fridge joke, with that level of pun is it possible you are also a dorky dad and just didn't mention it?

[ He recognizes more than just similar powers in this conversation: she is using humor to ease the tension because this sounds like it's freaking her out a lot. Cisco can respect that. He is the same way, when it comes to his own shit. So he keeps it light and humorous as he explains: ]

for me, it was a particle accelerator explosion, a little over two years ago, which released a wave of dark matter that changed my DNA. you know, the usual! i kinda had some ptsd stuff going on for a while there and my powers are linked to freaking out, too, so i bet you can guess how much fun that was. but it means i got a load of protips and hot strats for managing that shit if you ever want any.

got it in one, super sleuth.

( it's somehow easier to talk about this over text, where she can't see the other person's curious or questioning or downright disapproving expressions. it makes it easier to admit that, yes, she still has no idea what happened to her underground or why she survived when trip didn't or how any of this is happening now. all she knows is that it is happening, and that it's hurting her, and she really, really wants that to stop.

the hurting, that is. skye doesn't exactly believe that there's some magic tech out there that could quell powers in their paces, because if there was, shield would have already had it in their possession. )

if i could dump my memories into a pensieve all dumbledore style to make it easier for people to understand, i would
right now i just feel like a crazy person who can make things quake when i'm panicking, and in the rare instances where i actually manage to summon it, i'm the idiot who cracks a bunch of bones as my reward

( so, you know. she's in great spirits, all things considered. )

i'll pretty much take what i can get. hot takes, pro tips, fancy tech to replace my doctor-issued splints, i'm all ears.

[ Cisco is struck with the new and rather weird thought that, if they put their minds to it, he probably could see Skye's memories - not with a pensieve, but with his powers. Still, there's a pretty big difference between her joking about that and her actually wanting someone to go barging around in her life like that. Generally, if it's not a life or death situation, he tries to avoid infringing on people's privacy like that. ]

ok first of all you're NOT a crazy person
take it from me, a guy who was 100% convinced he was going crazy for the first like month he had powers

and you're not an idiot for not understanding right away how to control them yet.
i've met a lot of metas, and a lot of mutants, and everything in between
and i've never met anybody who had a good handle on things right away
nobody, seriously

how 'bout for now, i start working on some vibration-dampening arm guards
that'll hopefully help channel that shit out rather than in
and in a few days you can swing by my workshop and we can try 'em out and see if they help

as for the pro tips, i'm happy to pass them along
or if you're feeling up to reaching out to somebody else, you can just talk to genji
he's the one who taught me, and just a super great dude overall
plus, you know, an actual cyborg ninja, from the future, with powers of his own
and if that's not a recommendation i don't know what is

thanks, sensei.

( it's not much, but she means it. there haven't been many opportunities to risk potentially poor reactions to her suddenly can-do capabilities, but skye has found herself consistently pleasantly surprised by the warm welcomes and kind understandings that have been extended to her by the residents of riverview. for a place that calls itself "quarantine", it's definitely a huge upgrade from skye's actual quarantine back home. )

you supply the gear, i'll bring the pizza and beer
any preferences?
(but if you say pineapple, i might just have to get sick beforehand.)

( kidding. kind of. in skye's firm opinion, pineapple on pizza is just plain wrong, and if he really wants it, she'll just have to get two pizzas. )

i'm definitely not in a position to turn down a literal cyborg ninja tutor, so ten points to ravenclaw for the recommendation
i'll give him a ring

( why does she assume cisco is a ravenclaw? we just don't know. probably because he's brilliant, though. )

ok well pineapple on pizza is DOPE and you're totally wrong
but i've learned better than trying to convert a heretic 🍕
anything is fine i love all pizzas i love all beers
there are no bad options tbh

i'll send along his contact info
he's seriously the chillest guy i know
i would be a ten times more of a hot mess if it weren't for him
i seriously could barely talk about my powers before i knew him much less control them

i think you're all just part of a pineapple conspiracy
like pineapple and cheese is just gross
add tomato sauce to it and you might as well add pineapples to your hamburgers

( #ew. )

...

( there's a brief, hesitant pause before the next set of messages. as if somebody's written, erased, and then re-written. over and over. )

okay full disclosure if you mention this to anyone murder is not off the table
but there's not an equivalent of facebook relationship statuses here, right?

( because she's been trying to figure out a certain speedster and has had zero luck. damn you, moon, for your lack of social media with overly-revealing personal information fields. )

hamburger with a ring of grilled pineapple on it?
don't mind if i DO! 🍍🍍🍍🍍

[ He has no shame whatsoever. But he is surprised when she doesn't reply to convey her disgust right away, but instead, seems to be typing for a good long while before she sends a text. He is expecting a rant about how a pineapple murdered her father, or a very good series of insults against the fruit.

Instead! It is this. ]

👀
no murder needed girl
there's that friendr app but a lot of people just use it for friend stuff and a ton of people don't use it at all
is there anybody you were wondering about in particular though
because i know a lotta people who know a lotta people
so i can give you the skinny if the skinny's what you want.
maybe on, i don't know. a certain redhead?
just a guess.

( a deep, melodramatic sigh — one she's very glad doesn't transmit along with her texts. she had thought she was being subtle. )

yeah, i'm not even going to try and deny that one
am i totally barking up the wrong tree here?
because sometimes it seems like we're on the same page and then sometimes it's like talking to a brick wall

like, dude, you'll hold my hand and heal me with your magic speed but you won't get handsy in a movie theatre
what gives!!!

[ Cisco does have the advantage of knowing the cultural implications of wanting to creep on somebody's facebook status. ]

i can't speak for him obviously but i don't think it's the wrong tree at all
last time i checked he was single but nervous about trying to mingle
i don't wanna go into too many details and violate some kind of bro code
but his dating history has been complicated recently
and i'm talking the kind of complicated that involves getting trapped in other dimensions & divergent timelines & amnesia
not just the 'feelings are hard' kind
you feel me?

he's a great guy
i think it's just been a long time since he was in the game
you might need to be a little blunt with him
and a little patient.

full disclosure: i thought i was being blunt

( she could try and elaborate, but honestly? it's way easier to snap a screenshot of about 16 texts back-and-forth, one that skye really wishes she could program to self-destruct... )

patient i'm starting to get, though

[ Did this girl just straight-up send him screenshots? Of her flirty texts with a dude, to get his read on it? Oh, he likes her already.

Cisco reads through quickly once, and then a little more slowly, shaking his head. There's a whole lot of flirting and jokes and not a whole lot of honesty or vulnerability coming from either of them in that conversation. This is going to take some Work. ]

okay yeah there's no way he was missing those hints
those weren't signs those were billboards
it definitely reads to me like he was flirting back
and i don't think wally would do that if he wasn't interested

i don't know
this is the part where you learn that i'm good at tech and inspirational speeches
but crap when it comes to dating advice
i mean i've dated a fair number of guys and i AM a guy and even i just have no clue how guys' heads work half the time
or more than half

( it's a lot harder to be open and vulnerable and honest when you have the ability to literally delete the words before you send them. )

obviously if you ever tell him i sent you those i will literally have to quake you into the ground so far you'll wind up in moon china

( she would have never sent them if she thought for a second there was any risk of it... but the statement still stands. it's a significant show of trust in cisco, and she really doesn't want to be wrong. )

but i don't know
maybe playing speedster nurse was a turn off
and i have shit dating luck anyway so maybe it's better if he did change his mind

um, do i LOOK like a snitch???

[ Yes they're texting and she's never met him but so what? ]

also full disclosure i'm like a terrible liar so if he asks directly i'll do my best but like
heads up about that for the future.

i don't know enough about his turn ons or offs to say
i got the impression he's got shit dating luck tho so maybe you'll cancel each other out???
worked for me and my boyfriend so

boy, you look like a bunch of beautiful pixels right now and you know it
but i GUESS you can avoid seeing moon china for now since you're helping me out

( she just really hopes there's no reason for him to bring up the contents of a likely now-forgotten text chain with cisco directly. )

thanks, btw

no problemo
i'ma start work on that tech and i'll hit you up when there's progress.

and i guess my advice re: wally is just... talk to him, straight up.
like it's the most basic advice but honestly?
you gotta do it. only way to figure shit out

riverview ∆ ic inbox ∆ @ciscodelamancha

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