(no subject)

[drivesadesk]

WHO: Jonathan Walsh and open
WHERE: Around Heropa
WHEN: Early May
WHAT: Jonathan getting used to his new home
WARNINGS: None, will update if something comes up in the threads


Heropa #004

Jonathan Walsh was aware that he was supposed to have housemates here, but he didn't know the proper etiquette. He knew, however, that he wouldn't want someone just barging in (mostly because they might catch him without his skin suit), so to avoid any startled punches from anyone who was not expecting a new housemate to show up right at this moment, Jonathan decided to knock.


Around Heropa

Once he got settled in at his new house, Jonathan decided to go for a jog around the area, just to get a better sense of where things were. The first thing he was noticing was how...small this town was. Sure, so was Beacon, but when he wasn't tied up with keeping an eye on Ozzie, he really did prefer big cities. Still, he was willing to give Heropa a go before writing it off. It might be fun, and so far, it wasn't like he knew anything about any of the other cities to even know where he'd like to move to. Besides, he'd already found out where he could get coffee around here, which meant he didn't have to worry that he might be cut off from his iced mocha macchiatos any time soon.

As he jogged around the area, Jonathan would give a friendly smile and wave to anyone who he happened to pass. After all, it never hurt to be amicable, and the more trustworthy and approachable he seemed, the more people would freely give him information and help him with things.


Cranberries Coffeehouse

He had to admit, the coffee was pretty good here. Also, it was a nice, relaxing place for him to settle down with a newspaper and start reading, paying close attention to any hints of things that were different in this universe from his own, and circling anything he'd want to look more into later. He wanted to get a good sense of this world, how it worked, what to expect, and to try and get a sense of the best way to integrate seamlessly.

However, if anyone were to approach him, he'd fold his newspaper back up and happily offer a greeting and a smile. After all, the best information always came directly from the source. Also, talking to people was fun.

Comments

Heropa 004! sorry he's kind of, um, crazy

[hellrisen02]

It wasn't entirely correct to say that Duo was used to this. Sure, he'd been in The City for a whole year, and it felt a hell of a lot longer than that- considering everything that had happened there, it affected him a lot more than he'd either care to admit or remember. And he hadn't remembered, thank God, for the last 30 years. But the thing had been about that place, it changed people. They might not be different when they returned home, and compared to living out another 30 years of your life it should be a raindrop in the puddle. But once all the memories came flooding back, he'd been having a great ol' time trying to re-arrange his brain, come to terms with what had happened, and what he could have done, had he known.

Well... he couldn't change what had happened, but it would change how he handled things the second time around. He wasn't armed yet, and he needed to change that soon, but that was the good thing about having stealth powers- you didn't have to worry about protecting yourself with weapons.

When he hears the knock at the door, he files through his mind of who it could be, based on who he'd spoken to already- anyone he'd given incentive to find him, anyone from home or The City that could come looking for him without saying something first. Trowa, maybe. Heero, probably. ...M... no, he would play a game first. He frowns, turning invisible then approaching the door to glance out the windows on either side of it.

...No one he recognized. Could be a shapeshifter- Kira? Would certainly have reason to hunt him down. Could be an agent of this government, if they really were able to get information on him from his homeworld. After all, a paranoid, controlling government wouldn't want a guy who'd spent half his life tearing down a government just like them running around free for long. Or... it could be nothing.

Duo cautiously opens the front door, letting it swing open in front of the guy. To him, it would be like the door just opened on his own- but his roommate was standing right behind it, watching.

That's perfectly okay, Jonathan's a bit weird, himself

[drivesadesk]

Jonathan was a bit confused when the door opened itself, but...well, this was a whole new Earth he told himself. Maybe they used automatic swinging doors in residential homes.

"Uh, hello?"

That didn't seem right, though, since he'd have thought he'd have at least needed to use his key. Still, he stepped inside, gripping the file he'd been given a little tighter as he peered around the door, almost expecting to see someone hiding back there, but he saw no one.

In a slightly louder voice he called out, in case anyone was around, "Hello? It's Jonathan Walsh. I was told I'd be living here?"

Duo likes weirdos! Provided they aren't trying to kill him

[hellrisen02]

'Living here?' Oh great. Duo frowned a little to himself as he considered the mechanics of keeping himself on the downlow with a roommate. No two ways about it, the guy would see his face, and he'd probably have to give something of a name. Hmm. Well, if this place was anything like the MAC's, he'd probably try not to stick around too long anyway. Besides, the guy didn't look all that troublesome, not that Duo was one to judge based on initial appearances. Maybe it would be fine?

Ahhh, hell. He'd just have to roll with it. As soon as Duo began speaking, he decloaked, allowing the man to see and hear him- and looking like nothing more imposing than a smiling older man in priest's robes. "Jonathan, huh? Looks like we'll be stuck together for a little while. Porter willing, 'course."

"You can call me Father Maxwell."

Then he's in luck! Jonathan really isn't much of a killer

[drivesadesk]

Jonathan jumped slightly when the other man suddenly appeared out of nowhere. But to his credit, he regained his composure quickly. It likely helped a bit that this Father Maxwell didn't look terribly intimidating.

"Oh, hello! Yeah, it looks like we will, won't it? But I'm sure it'll be great! So...uh, that appearing out of nowhere thing, is that part of this whole 'powers' thing I've been hearing about? Because really, that's an amazing trick you've got there."

And a potentially very frustrating ability, but Jonathan kept his outward demeanor incredibly cheerful and upbeat despite that.

Duo likes him more already

[hellrisen02]

Duo raises an eyebrow at the reaction- well, the guy couldn't be blamed for having the bajeezus scared out of him, and Duo couldn't say he didn't get a little bit of a chuckle when he did that to people. He figured the power out quick enough though, so he wasn't totally stupid. Also good.

"Yeah, you could say it is. Although I'm pretty good at that kind of thing even without the power, to be honest with you." Duo crosses the entryway back towards the living room, gesturing. "Wanna sit? You probably have a lot of questions. I haven't been here long myself, but I can still probably answer a lot more than you think."

[drivesadesk]

"Yeah, that would be great, thanks! Although, to be honest, it's hard to know where to even start," he said as he took a seat on the couch, setting his folder beside him. After a moment, however, he looked at the spot on his arm where he'd be able to see his 'tattoo' had the room been darker.

"I guess my first question is...what is the technology level on this version of Earth? Because while I'm sure these 'nanites' are alien technology that people just ran across, I saw hover vehicles on the way over here, but I also saw and heard a lot of things that seemed...well, a bit old fashioned."

[hellrisen02]

Glancing at the folder he set down, Duo makes the mental note to give it a look if he could ever manage to, when the guy wasn't here. Couldn't hurt to know whatever might be in there, pertaining to him. Setting himself down ungracefully on the arm of the couch, he took a deep breath, thoughtful as he considered the question.

The nature of the question, first, because for a new imPort, the first questions were usually more of the existential crisis kind. What's going on, where am I, why me? Granted, the government seemed to have a decent handle on filling in a lot of that info, but most were usually a little dazed by the enormity of the situation when they got sent packing on their merry way. To start on the technology level, there had to be a reason, and Duo could guess a good dozen off the bat.

Time to figure out which one. "Alright. Now I'll start off by saying that I seem to come from a point in time way in the future of most people that come through that Porter, although of course there's plenty of exceptions to that. Where I come from, same deal, lot of our technology is more advanced, some of it lags way behind."

"Near as I can tell, the nature of things here is that anything with a military application is more advanced, and the rest is sort of trickle down from that. There's an arms race happening... Some big worldwide political disagreement, but it's not an active and ongoing battlefield so much as little incidents back and forth. They call it a Cold War, and there was one in the far, far past of where I come from, and I'm not sure it's the same one. Probably, since I think America spearheaded one side of that, too."

"Well, since there's a cultural and technological arms race going, it might have something to do with that. Where I come from, cultural borders weren't so much a big thing anymore. Advancement got passed around and worked on a worldwide scale, so you didn't have anyone keeping things from each other just cuz of nationality. Probably, that's what's lead to a lot of the anachronism going on here. All the manufacture processes are kept pretty nationalistic, along idealistic lines."

Duo looks at him, a brief, scrutinizing glance. "What's your experience with tech?"

[drivesadesk]

Jonathan gave a brief nod, accepting that Duo's explanation of the differences in technology made sense. Of course, he did idly wonder if he should have seemed more concerned about all of this. All the humans he'd abducted always seemed so upset about this sort of thing, but he dismissed the thought, realizing it would seem even stranger if his demeanor changed partway through. Besides, this guy didn't show any signs of thinking it was weird as of yet, so he was probably doing a fine job passing as human.

"Yeah, my Earth had a Cold War too. Same countries involved, but it didn't last near as long. I suppose that would explain all the nationalism, too. My Earth was huge on the whole globalism, big chain stores, iphones and stuff like that."

As for his experience with tech...well. Jonathan's smile didn't even waver as he continued, letting out a small chuckle. "Yeah, my experience with tech? That's a huge complicated thing right there. Maybe I'll tell you all about it some time. But anyway, yeah, go on and tell me more about this place. I mean, if I'm going to be living here, I really think I should get a strong idea of the general vibe of this place, you know? What's it like here? Do you like it here?"

He felt like his evasion of the question was clever, although he'd wait to mentally pat himself on the back until he saw if it worked.

[hellrisen02]

"Hey, who am I to complain about the march of consumerism? Materialism and freedom don't got as much to do with each other as people think, if you ask me." Not as much as choice, not as much as self-responsibility. Duo had no plans to get into that, though; especially not with someone he hadn't yet even confirmed was dangerous or not.

The evasive tactic gets a smirk from Duo, disbelieving as all hell, but he doesn't call Jonathan on it outright. More important why, anyway, and he could eek that out in other ways. "As far as what it's like otherwise? Fine. Peaceful, on the surface. Bunch of bullshit, on the underneath, but what can you expect, from a political landscape like this? The whole Registration thing smells and we're clearly not here for holidays, but I need to find out more to give you anything further. Still only been here a couple days."

"About how we got here, though, and prospects of going back? That I can tell you about. If that Porter is the same thing as it always was, then here's how it works: you got as little choice in leaving as you do coming here. If you do go home, you won't remember anything that happened here, and you'll return to exactly where and when you came from. If somehow you manage to get brought back here again, you might remember having been here, or you might not. It's a crapshoot, the whole thing. The government can't control it, either. And there's this... AI, I guess- her name is Lachesis, and she might control whether you come or go, but I ain't even sure about that."

Duo leans forward, picking up a small shotglass that had been sitting on the table. He gives it a short swirl and sips st the liquor within. "And I can tell you that if you don't already know your powers, you should start figuring that out. They like to pop up at a real inconvenient time, otherwise." Without looking away, Duo tilts his glass again, grins behind it. "You human?"

Heropa

[bindsthedead]

[Sabriel wasn't the best at determining who was or wasn't an imPort when it wasn't obvious- though Sabriel herself stood out, mostly thanks to the sword strapped to her hip- the rest of her clothing was actually normal for this world at the moment. She'd been chatting with the police, discussing coordination with RISE, and had in fact just been stepping out. So when she saw someone waving at her she waved right back with a vaguely friendly smile on her face.]

[drivesadesk]

"Hey, what's up?" he greeted cheerily when he noticed the sword. "Wow, I'm guessing you're not from around here either, huh? I mean, I know this place has a lot of anachronisms, but..."

Swords weren't exactly the kind of anachronisms this place tended to have, though. As Father Maxwell had pointed out, this place tended to put more effort into developing technologies with potential military applications.

[bindsthedead]

"I'm not- are you a new imPort?" Sabriel's tone is open and friendly, and she carries herself with confidence.

"And yes, swords aren't in common use around here, but they're what I've trained with, and I've found it useful."

[drivesadesk]

"As a matter of fact I am!" And the fact that he was just recently transported into a new universe didn't seem to be bothering him in the least.

"Right, so have you needed it a lot in this place?"

[bindsthedead]

"On occasion- my work brings me into danger more often than some imPorts, but there are some problems none of us can avoid." Like Russia, or any of the assorted shadowy groups who saw imPorts as a resource or a threat.

[drivesadesk]

"Oh, right. I'm guessing you work with the police or something along those lines?" Considering their location and the danger level of such a position, that's what made the most sense to him. "What sort of universally unavoidable problems usually pop up around here? Or is it just the typical stuff you'll get in any world, like muggings, gangs, and reporters ambushing you to find out how you keep that amazing complexion."

[bindsthedead]

"I mean foreign governments- Russia mostly- and various secret organizations who see imPorts as threats or resources." And Sabriel's tone is deadly serious.

"We haven't had any serious incidents for a while, beyond a blackout several months ago, but it's only a matter of time until something else happens."

[drivesadesk]

"...right. Good to know."

It likely tied in with that whole Cold War thing that still seemed to be going strong in this universe.

"Well, I'll keep my eye out for any insidious Russian plots. Anything else I should know?"

Around Heropa

[am_i_a_monster]

Abigail enjoyed taking long walks around Heropa, for the simple fact that she could. It was a nice reminder that she was free now and no matter what this place threw at her, she had held onto that freedom. She hummed to herself as she walked, songs she was learning for her harpsichord. She was a bit surprised when she saw the jogger wave to her and searched her memory to see if she knew him.

Wanting to be polite, she returned the wave with a smile and a "Hi".

[drivesadesk]

"Hey! What's that tune you're humming? Sounds great!" he said in far too cheery a tone.

[am_i_a_monster]

"Thanks. It's one of Handel's keyboard suites." Abigail answered. "It would sound better on a harpsichord, but they're hard to carry around." She added as a joke.

[drivesadesk]

"Sounds nice! You have a knack for carrying a tune." After a pause he added, "So, are you from around here, or...sorry, I'm new, just curious about who might have some great insider knowledge about this place and who is in the same boat I am."

[am_i_a_monster]

"Thank you." Abigail shook her head. "I'm from Minnesota. And I lived in Maryland for a while. But that was in another world. I've lived here in Heropa since I got to this world." She paused. "I'm guessing you're an import too?"

[drivesadesk]

"I am! Just got here recently, actually. I've been to a few locales on my version of Earth, myself. Mostly New York and Beacon, although this place seems to have quite a few notable differences from the Earth I know."

Like hover cars, among other things.

[am_i_a_monster]

"Welcome. It's a strange place, but it's good most of the time." Abigail chuckled. "It's very different from the world I'm from too. Porters, powers, it was all new to me." Even freedom was a new experience for her. "How are you adjusting to it?"

[drivesadesk]

"Pretty good, pretty good," he said with an amicable nod. "A huge mix up from my regular routine, but since my 'regular routine' was pretty much down the tubes anyway even before I was brought here, it's not too hard to adapt to my new surroundings."