franciscoramon | riverview ∆ ic inbox ∆ @ciscodelamancha

[At some point, Cisco will come home to find a little parcel on his bed, with a note attached. It's enchanted to only be opened and read by him, in case Yuri goes snooping.

The note is simple, in Taako's pretty but near fucking unintelligible handwriting:]

Something to help track your vibes.

[Inside the package is a very stylish fitbit-equivalent device, with a heartbeat monitor. Taako's figuring that the vibes are a result of high emotions, and that usually comes with an elevated heartrate, so he figures this might help Cisco keep track of what conditions result in a vibe.]

[ Cisco finds the present a few hours after Taako leaves it, takes a moment or two to decipher the message, and test out the neat little device, before he texts back: ]

what's the occasion?

(i'm kinda surprised you figured it out. took me ages, didn't realize until a little bit ago)

Edited 2017-07-22 02:14 (UTC)

also: thank you!!!!
this'll actually be super helpful

Do I need an occasion?

And I'm magic, remember? I was thinking about liches, how they gotta keep their cool cause if they get too angry or upset they lose their form.

[That... isn't quite true. What he was really thinking about was the sparks that came off Lup when she was angry, but he doesn't want to talk about that.]

Seems like it's both for you, good or bad emotions, probably a good thing, really.

oh yeah that reminds me been meaning to ask: lup is she... lichified? i mean i know you said she gets that way eventually but i didn't know if timelines or if i would be able to tell that kind of thing by looking, and there's really no polite way to ask.

yeah.
i didn't realize being happy did it too til our karaoke adventure
but then i remembered garyl & this one time back in central city

i mean i'm gonna level with you
usually it's been bad.
it's not all bad stuff, tho. like being angry or sad or grossed out, nothing.
just when i'm scared tbh

Nah, she's from like a few months before they do the ritual.

[Which is good and bad; part of Taako is still always going to be terrified of the fact Lup took that risk, and continues to take it, but it's also reassuring to know she has a back up should something happen.]

Hey, at least you know being happy can do it too, so you don't have to scare the shit out of yourself if you wanna practice. Cause I mean, we can do that too, but it's way less fun

cool.

[ If she had been a lich - well it's not like it would change what Cisco thought of her, but it's still the kind of thing he prefers to know about a person, whether they are secretly a magical ghost. ]

yeah. changes things a bit.

[ He should maybe just leave it there. But... Taako is one of the few people he'd told about the goggles at all, and Taako had been part of what encouraged him in the first place. ]

those goggles i've been making for lucid dreaming?
they kinda weren't just for lucid dreaming.
i've been tuning the frequency so they activate the fear centers in my brain
just sort of jump start that whole situation

Edited 2017-07-22 05:19 (UTC)

DUDE WHAT THE FUCK

That is a very shitty idea, you shouldn't have to be scared just to use your powers!

see this is exactly why i didn't tell you before

i just figured that was the way it had to be? that's how it always has been, except those three times. plus i'm pretty sure it's actually more effective. my visions have been... weaker, i guess, when i was happy.

i think it might be an adrenaline thing. or a dopamine thing. or maybe both.

Edited 2017-07-22 05:35 (UTC)

I can't believe you're NOT ONLY making me be the sensible person here, but also making me look up science shit

[What's a dopamine.

Give him a second]

Okay, listen, I'm gonna ask a weird question.

Does it ever happen when you orgasm?

[LOOK

Dopamine is at high levels during orgasms, that's a fun fact Taako just discovered.]

TAAKO

i can't believe you would ask me that

[ Cisco has done some research into neurotransmitters in the last few days, too. A hell of a lot more than Taako, and from much more thorough and reputable sources. So he knows it's a completely valid question. But even so. ]

no, it has never happened when i orgasm.
but now you've got me worried that it's GONNA, SOMEDAY, SO THANKS FOR THAT
nothing quite as sexy as a dude just going full on spaced out zombie for half a minute

dopamine has different effects when it's in different parts of the brain!

If I suck a dick so good the dude spaces out for half a minute that is a SUCCESS

What you're saying is "I had a great time singing karaoke" is different from "I just came really hard"?

[ Part of him knows Taako might be trying to cheer him up but there is just no way of salvaging this. No way at all. He's just gonna completely ignore that first bit entirely, thanks. ]

what i'm saying is the 'great time singing karaoke' was not super long after the 'being kinda a bit scared to go on stage'.
and the 'getting to feed an awesome phantom steed' was not super long after the 'taako asked me to come out here but he won't tell me why oh shit what is he up to, what if he's been a serial killer this whole time'.

dopamine's not just good stuff. it's more like.... being super duper in the moment. yeah that can be in a sex way but it can also be in a shit i'm probably gonna die in a second way

so, like what if being kind of nervous started the dopamine fire and then the adrenaline from the happiness was just the fuel?

[Rude]

I mean, if I was planning to kill you that would've been the time for it, for sure.

[He's apparently not offended that Cisco thought he might be a serial killer, mostly because he realizes that's just how Cisco is.]

I'm gonna behave myself and not make a joke about fear boners but I want you to know this explains a lot.

What about drugs? I tried that powder at one of the three hundred festivals we've had and it made me pretty damn happy, would that work for you?

[He's trying to focus on the positive emotions, even if Cisco said it's not as strong.]

i was keenly aware of that. thank you for not killing me, definitely improved the afternoon.

see, science is great, we're all learning great explanations about great things today.
(saying you're not making the joke is basically just making the joke in a roundabout way)

haven't really had any in the last year, so, who knows? i mean... it's possible. alcohol's obviously not enough, since it's not like our karaoke night was the first time i've been drunk since all this started.

you, uh. remember when you said you can sort of alter dreams or whatever?
maybe if i use the goggles as they are, while i'm hooked up to some stuff that'll monitor dopamine and adrenaline and scan brain waves and all of that and then after you change the dream to be not a nightmare, i can see what the shift is
and that would provide some real data to work with, instead of just
speculation and boner jokes.

You're welcome, and I know :)

[Why is Cisco friends with him.]

As much as I love speculation and boner jokes, we can try that whenever you want. I'm gonna assume you don't just have all that machinery to monitor shit lying around.

definitely not. if we're doing this i'm gonna sweet talk some people at the hospital into loaning me some SERIOUS gear. might be best if we do it there in case it goes bad.

and i'll need to figure out how i'm going to record when my powers are kicking in precisely & other stuff like that.

you're sure you're willing to do it, tho? cuz you don't have to.

Is sweet talk a euphemism or are you really gonna just ask nicely and see if they let you use it?

[He just wants to clarify because if they're stealing shit to use he wants to be invited]

I'm sure, my man, it's not like it's a whole lot of skin off my nose. Just a spell slot, and I waste those on shit that's way less important.

[Like "I can't be bothered to go get a fork so I'm making out of of shadows"]

i'm going to ask very very nicely and use my absolute best sweet innocent puppy face on the weakest looking nurse i can find.
and if that doesn't work i'll offer to rig the hospital for free cable or beef up the wifi signal or something like that.

[ Cisco's not entirely innocent, okay? He's so morally grey. Look at him, master of manipulation and dark gritty compromise. ]

ok, if you're sure. i just... don't fully get how my powers work. i really don't think it'll be dangerous for you at all but there's no way for me to be 100% totally completely certain

If you wanna bribe them I can make fake gold

[what...]

I mean, worst case scenario is that you kill me and Lup has to go steal my soul back from the astral plane and get my ass a new body. But I'm sure that won't happen :)

[What he doesn't say is that Lup wouldn't even need Taako's body to grow him a new one, but that's because it's not his shit to share.]

let's call that plan c

that is so weirdly specific i'm gonna take a wild guess and say that actually happened at some point?

i don't think it'll kill you. mostly i'm worried the vibes or the dream magic will cancel each other out and it'll be a waste of time.

Nah I just made it up. I mean Barry has a pod that grows bodies for him, they exist, so you'd just have to stick a bit of me in one of those, wait a few months while I haunt everyone and then we're good as new.

If it doesn't work you can buy me dinner and we'll call it even, yeah?

riverview ∆ ic inbox ∆ @ciscodelamancha

action(ish)

1/2

2/2

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/2

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/3

2/3

3/3

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)