[OTA] I was nothin' but a city boy

[hellraiser02]

WHO: Duo Maxwell and you!
WHERE: Alll over
WHEN: Alll through September
WHAT: Some random acts of kindness, some dumpster diving, and a lot of chit chat. A few closed prompts in the comments.
WARNINGS: None foreseen!


01) I've been sleepin' on the sidewalk, rollin' down the road

[What's with all these kids in dumpsters these days? Must be a fashionable pasttime.]

[You might hear it first as a rustling in the garbage outside of one of those tech companies that've been popping up all over lately- profitable business to get into, what with all these imPort technologies to mess with- there's nothing visibly there, though. Just a rat or something, probably. A second later, there's a clunk and a crash as something gets tossed out of the dumpster. Or... falls out, really. There's a quiet 'oop' from inside the dumpster.]

[Following soon after it is a kid, can't be older than 18, his cumbersome-looking long braid trailing in all the crap and crud behind him in the trash. He cringes down at the piece of machinery on the ground and strains for it from up in the dumpster before he spots you nearby. Ah, perfect!]

Hey pal, can you pass that back to me?

02) What you sayin', are you playin', sure you don't mean me?

[Like most people, you're probably minding your own business on your comm or whatever while the person in front of you is ordering their lunch at the sandwich shop right in the middle of the city. So you probably don't expect when that person turns to you, giving a little wave for your attention if necessary.]

[He's got a cheerful grin, waving a little scrap of paper in one hand.] Ah... I have a coupon for buy one, get one, but I don't really need two sandwiches... So how about I buy for you, huh?

03) And soon we had the record of the year

[Duo is standing in front of an array of different posters in front of a local concert hall/club (mildly blocking foottraffic on that part of the sidewalk, sorry), humming and hawwing over various performers. Some of them were even imPorts, huh...? Wild how they were able to get this level of naturalization within the native population, all these years later...]

[But something was off about it all, too. He crinkles his brow, popping a soda cup out of his face to loudly complain.]

What's with the music in this place...!? imPorts are the only ones playing rock music? That can't be right...

Comments

04) (CLOSED TO LUCINA) And I was sleepin' like a princess, never touched the road

[hellraiser02]

[It was pretty common, back in the City- with individuals capitalizing on the lack of police presence- armed robberies spiked, so need for an imPort to step in was fairly regular. And thanks to Duo's powers, he could generally do so without even really having to be involved or targeted at all. But with the stable government and police forces here in this new world, the daily lives of imPorts were far less petty crimes and much more keeping tabs on each other, whatever fresh nonsense was drummed up.]

[...Which is why Duo's surprised when he hears a whizzing behind him and turns to see the kind of gaudy yellow and purple he'd expect of one of those 'supervillain' types back in the City. Native metas... He'd heard about them, but this is the first he's seen of the lot. Furrowing his brow, he glances around, almost expecting to see any number of other imPorts pursuing the guy but... nothing, huh?]

[Guess it's his turn. Luckily he's got his trusty Deathscycle with him, cloaked and all, and soon he's zooming after the guy. All he needs is a few well-aimed shots to the other guy's tires and he'll be dead in his tracks!]

[fauxmarth]

[he's only surprised there's no one in pursuit because he didn't look up. Lucina's been tailing this ne'er-do-well for a couple blocks, having been told of the theft by a handful of startled witnesses (and needing to have it explained a scooter is not a car).

maybe he'll realize it when she swoops down, all glistening armor and swooshing hair, diving feet-first to land partly on the scooter as its tires go. she barely notices, because the momentum works in her favor as she yanks the culprit by his goofy collar and throws him backward--

at the invisible man.]

[hellraiser02]

[Duo's just fired off his shots when justice suddenly swoops hard and fast from above. He looks up from his gunsight in surprise-- he could have almost hit that guy-- and everything else all happens so fast it's all he can do to make the split of the moment decisions, like he's right back in the pilot's seat.]

[Seeing the body come flying at him, he swerves and brakes hard to avoid a major traffic wreck as the previously invisible bike is disconnected from its rider, but can't quite help from being thrown off. Yelping is about all he can manage as the wind is knocked out of him, crashing in a heap against a nearby streetside newspaper stand. What follows is a half-visible, half-invisible scuffle as both men groan and struggle to gather their wits... probably much to the confusion of any witnesses.]

[fauxmarth]

[Lucina lands on her feet with a huff and a soft clank, wasting no time in turning back, disregarding the vehicle skidding off into a wall. she's got the start of a remark on her tongue that doesn't even get a chance, because what she sees is boggling.]

Wh--? What? [she sees disembodied limbs flailing, flashes of unattached hair... oh, gods. did she...obliterate this man? crook he may be, but no one deserves dismemberment for stealing watches...!]

[hellraiser02]

[In the end, one of these men is a meta, and the other is a meta with a gun and military training. Duo ends up somehow on top of the guy a good twice his size, heeled boot pressed against his back and barrel pressed unforgivingly against the back of his nape. Properly cloaked and finally free to assess his surroundings, he glances up to scrutinize Lucina from afar, expression marked surprise.] A girl...?

[Reluctantly, he decloaks, and shouts across her way the 20 or so feet without letting up on the would-be crook.] Hey, watch where you're throwing next time! You're lucky I'm invisible and a great driver!

1

[rebelhealer]

[Anders' just happens to be out and about when he hears the noise coming from the dumpster. Of course, he's seen refugees and poor people have to dig for scraps of food back home, and that's what he's expecting here.

Except this isn't a restaurant's dumpster, and the item that falls out isn't food.

When the young man asks for the item, Anders looks down at it, walks over, picks it up and walks back over to him.]

What are you doing in there?

[hellraiser02]

Hmmm... let's call it research. [Duo answers, with a thoughtful hum. He sticks one hand out of the dumpster for the... well, it looks like some kind of old hard drive. Research, indeed.]

[Duo scrambles up to the top of the pile he's tossed to one side of the dumpster, giving his pants a superficial little dust-off (black jeans, at least they don't stain) and fiddles with the machinery in his hand as he regards the guy.]

...You... probably don't work for this place, huh...

Can you believe? Old parts like this are worth a fortune to the right collectors. [He waves it in his hand] So wasteful not to even recycle them properly. And real sloppy, too. Oh well! Better for me.

[rebelhealer]

No, I work at a cat shelter, actually.

[Anders examines the pile of parts. He still doesn't quite get how electronics work, but he knows these parts have something to do with it. He's still learning how to use his computer, for one thing.]

People just throw this stuff out, even though it's valuable?

[hellraiser02]

Oh yeah? [Duo chirps, eyebrows lightly twitched up in surprise.] Well, that's great. Even ignoring your usual stray populations, all the imPort-caused disasters 'round here cause plenty'a displaced pets too, I bet.

[He flings a bag of garbage off to the side and continues digging through... mostly just normal trash.]

Yeah, it's mostly lazy people. You're supposed to recycle it a specific way so the stuff in 'em doesn't cause pollution. Jeez, these people have nowhere else to go, I can't imagine what goes through their head to carelessly toss stuff like this around! [He grins to himself] Not to mention the value of the thing... Oh well, more for me.

Where's your shelter at?

2

[ikanteven]

[ Chidi glances behind him, then realizes for sure that he's the one being addressed. ]

For me? Oh, that's very nice of you.

[ He moves up to the counter. ]

Just a veggie sandwich, please. With the sprouts.

[hellraiser02]

I'm all about passing kindness 'round! [Duo waves a hand, as if to dismiss the compliment... and probably not sarcastic at all. He turns back to the cashier.] Veggie, you got it.

One veggie with sprouts, and one meatlovers double-stack. Extra pastrami, please!

[With his order out of the way and paid for, he steps off to the side, bouncing on his heels.] Veggie, huh? [Oh yes, he's continuing this conversation. So much for unspoken city-resident rule of 'make eye contact with no one, speak to no one' on lunch.] You're a vegetarian, then?

[ikanteven]

Oh...sort of part-time, so not really.

[ He shrugs. Apparently a conversation is happening whether he'd like it or not. And he really doesn't mind much, considering he's getting a free lunch out of it. ]

There are those who consider it their moral and ethical duty not to eat animals, because they are thinking, breathing creatures, but my opinion is that as long as the animals are being treated humanely, it's okay.

[ He glances around, as if to indicate everything about this world. ]

I haven't had time to research what the typical practices are here since I arrived, so I've been sticking to vegetarian meals for now.

[hellraiser02]

Part-time. [Duo's head starts to tilt a little, but then he just shrugs, toddling a few feet over to the soda fountain to fill his cup up.] I guess that's one way to do it.

[As he sips from his cup Duo thinks about it, and nods.] Well, I guess I agree with you there. I guess I was just never in any position to be picky about it either way, so... I just didn't!

[An eyebrow quirks up at the open-admission. imPort, huh? Duo looks Chidi up and down.] You, really? You seem kinda ...normal. No offense.

3

[knaval]

[riptide's just come out of a shop near where duo is and stops when he recognises him, saunters over, listens to his complains, reaches out and grabs one of persephone's concert posters. he really needs to get back on going to those...]

Huh? What's rock music?

[most of it sounds the same to him.]

[hellraiser02]

[Duo blinks up in surprise at the tall stranger who approaches him and grabs one of the posters off. Hey, he was reading that one...]

[He supposes that question isn't that outlandish for any native to ask, given that the only references he was able to search up for it was borne out of imPort influence. Still...] You know that singer right there? Persephone, I guess. I listened to some of her stuff. She's one of the closest to it that's big right now... But it's weird....

[He trails off mid-sentence. Speaking of big, he squints up at the hair, then the face... Hmmmm....] We've met, right? I think we've met...

[knaval]

Oh, I didn't realise there were different styles...

[he raises a shoulder in a shrug, then glances over to duo.]

Yeah. I'm Riptide? This is my stupid meat form.

[hellraiser02]

[Blink, blink. Duo's expression turns to surprise, then a bright grin.] Oh! Hey, buddy. I shoulda known, with your-- [He gestures at the mohawk] Grinbitch sure got a sense of humor with you guys, I guess.

[He hums, and toddles over, standing up on his tip-toes so he can peek at the poster in Riptide's hand again.] Cybertron doesn't have different genres of music? That's wild. Humans have all kinds of different music- what's popular in my era even is different from here, too. What does your planet's music sound like, anyway?

[He's guessing electronic, but like, he's trying not to be racist...]

01

[khajidont]

[ What's with his luck and meeting people in dumpsters all the time? Jaime had been raised underneath the impression that this was a far, far more uncommon occurrence than it actually seems to be.

Or maybe he's just lucky. ]

Um...

[ He picks it up, though he doesn't look happy about it, and passes it to Duo. ]

Sure? What are you doing in there?

[hellraiser02]

[Duo grins and gladly takes the old radio- the kind of zeerusty old antennae radio one would picture from a good 20 years in the past in most universes, but to Duo, the tech looked about modern as anything.]

Recycling. [He fiddles with the antennas a bit, frowning at a bend in one from the fall.] Can you believe they tossed a perfectly good radio in here? Digital is all well and good, but you can trust a lot more in these analog ones.

Well. Long as you can find batteries for 'em... [He sighs, popping open the empty battery compartment.]

[khajidont]

[ Well. At least it beats his conversation with the Maiden, even though he's only gotten about two sentences into it. At least he's actually making sense, even if Jaime's own delicate sensibilities can't figure out why it'd be worth digging through the trash for. ]

I can believe people putting just about anything in the trash, [ he says, a mite dubiously. ] Is this an environmental thing, a cost-effective thing, or do you just like salvaging this stuff? 'Cause no offense, but digging through the trash isn't many people's idea of a good time.

[hellraiser02]

Most people have a much lower threshold for trash than I do then, is what I reckon. How about I say 'all of the above'?

[Duo has gone from checking the battery compartment to checking the other working parts are in order, as he continues.] Scrap's my trade, but over there we mostly get the big industrial stuff that's already been carefully sorted- picked over, if you wanna put it plainly. That's fun too, but sometimes you can find even more interesting things in smaller bins. You know? Before it gets sorted by the Sanitation Department.

["Interesting" was one way to put it. Unsorted usually meant more like unfiltered. Unfiltered information, unfiltered goods...] Not like I'm pickin' old sandwiches outta here mostly.

01;

[bentspooner]

[ Unlike Duo, Sabrina is too good to be rolling around in dumpsters. The idea of letting her hair get tangled in Arceus knows what when it's supposed to be sleek and smelling like violets is a hard pass. But luckily for him, she doesn't have to actually touch his garbage to help him out. She just looks down at it, and it's levitating up where he can reach it. ]

What are you doing in there?

[hellraiser02]

[Well excuuuuse me, princess!! Duo watches on in surprise as the part begins to levitate on its own, and it takes him a moment to actually reach out and take it. Sure enough, some invisible force tugs on it as it settles into his hands. Magnesis, or.....?]

Thhhaaaaaanks.... [He says slowly, an eyebrow quirked at the woman. An imPort, obviously, but he can't help but feel there's-- something familiar in that voice.] Treasure huntin'. That's some trick you got.

[Best to play it safe and keep his thoughts in order, just in case she's a...]

[bentspooner]

[ By now, she's gotten used to people in this world being weird about it, it doesn't bother her too much. Back home, it seemed to get her more respect, but here, it's mostly funny looks.

Calling it a trick is reductive. [ Don't be rude, kid. ] I can use it to help you out from the garbage, if you like.

[hellraiser02]

My b. [His nervous grin twitches up a little.] Uh, I think I can manage it on my own, but... thanks...

[He swings his legs out over the edge of the dumpster and perches over the top of it, palming the small piece of machinery in hand.] Hmmm... imPort, right? Call me Shin, who're you?

[His glance flicks momentarily to the small balls pinned to her waist. Something tells him they weren't just cosmetic, and he's fairly sure he's seen such little capsules before...]