...And also these.

[thespaceopera]

[ Calibration Rooms ]
( for N-Z characters )

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ROOMS BY CHARACTER

N - Q Nami Natasha Romanoff Nelkeila Tarid Nux Nyssa al Ghul Octavia Blake One Peggy Carter Phèdre nó Delaunay de Montrève

R - U R. Daneel Olivaw Rapunzel Remy LeBeau Riku Robin Redbreast Rogue Santanico Pandemonium Shawn Hunter Stefan (Alesci) Salvatore Steve "Orion" Rogers Steven Quartz Universe Souji Seta Stiles Stilinski Syeira Tadashi Hamada Tekhetsio

V - Z Vash the Stampede Vima Sunrider Vision (The) Wanda Maximoff Wrath Yamanaka Ino

Comments

[tobeajedi]

[She laughs a little at the blush.]

Don't look so surprised!

So what kind of books do you read?

[She peeks into the box again, wondering what to check out next.]

[unfulfilledpotential]

A nickname for it, yeah. I'm from Philadelphia.

[He knows Nami's not from Earth, but he can't quite help elaborating a little bit:] We've got a lot of people from Earth, but I don't think I've met anyone from my neck of the woods.

[unfulfilledpotential]

More than willing, man. Don't sweat it.

[Shawn goes ahead and takes them off the highway as soon as the exit sign for Cornelius Corner pops up. Like before, the road fades into a memory; this time, they're standing inside a packed restaurant - and Shawn looks way younger than he has in any memory so far. (He can't be more than eleven here.)

"Don't worry about me, Shawn, I was just leaving," a much younger Cory says, turning towards the stairs.

"Why? I got an order of chili cheese fries, extra gravy," little Shawn says, gesturing towards the table.

"Naw, you're too busy with those other guys," Cory replies.

Shawn stares at him as if the kid's grown a third head. "What other guys?"

"The ones sitting at your table."

"So? They'll make room."

"Shawn, they're gonna see you talking to me," Cory says, gesturing to himself.

Shawn's face grows suspicious as he says, "You know, you've gotten real weird since you've been invited to this party. You don't want to hang out with me anymore?"

Cory's almost yelling, so loudly that the entire restaurant hears, "I'M A GEEK!" With a hand, he dismisses everyone's stares, "Oh, like you didn't know."

Shawn pulls the kid away to a booth, "Cory, what're you talking about?"

"I'm the worst kind of geek. I'm a geek who didn't know he was a geek."

A look of understanding washes over Shawn's face. "Cory?"

"Yeah?"

"Do I hang out with geeks?"

"No, that's why I'm leaving--"

Shawn grabs Cory by the arm. "Come on... you're my best friend, man. You've just gotta loosen up."

Cory's a bit stunned that Shawn doesn't think Cory's this proverbial geek, even having to ask to be reassured of it, until Cory asks "Am I cool?"

Shawn laughs. "Of course not."

"Then what AM I?"

"You're Cory. I'm Shawn, just like it's always been. What else do you need to know?"

Cory puzzles over it for a second. "I need to know how to be cool. Like you."

Shawn stares at him in utter bafflement. "I'm not cool."

"Yes, you are!"

Shawn pauses, having to ask for clarification - Cory insists that this place, and the people they're with, is a cool party, and that Shawn is the center of it. Which doesn't sound right to little Shawn at all, because he only wants to be wherever Cory is (no more, no less).

So after some deliberation, Shawn says, "Let's bail."

Cory again rambles about how this proves Shawn's coolness, because he can go wherever he wants and the party will flock to him, but Shawn just stars at Cory as if he's speaking another language. Sometimes, he swears, he's not gonna get this kid.

So he says, with a laugh as he gestures towards the stairs, "Cory? Shut up."

He knows where he wants to be, and if it means ditching a party to hang out with his best friend - then well, he's gonna do just that.]

here goes~?

[cpt_ressentiment]

[ He nods, shrugs, starts picking through the stuff in the box... He grabs the football jersey first, holds it up so he can look it over better, smiling a little. ]

American football? You played? That's pretty cool.

[cpt_ressentiment]

Yeah, good point...

[ This is still all really weird. But what the hell~ He turns back to the knife, takes it down, and starts tossing it between his hands - no flipping, not yet, just testing the weight and the like. ]

[cpt_ressentiment]

[ He manages not to flinch under her stare, no matter how unsettling this might be right now. She's finally looking at him - that should be a good thing, right? Not that anything else has changed --

Up until she grins at him, and that's... well, he doesn't know. But he tries to smile in return. ]

Hey. ... What is this place? What're you doing here?

[ Worth a shot, right? ]

[dancingmd]

[Beverly gives Vima a small smile. That's good to hear.] I think I might know how she feels. My son... I made some mistakes with him too.

[tallasaking]

[Tyrion doesn't say a word, but the knife-sharp smile that emerges from his lips is answer enough. He is clearly the one who knows the shadows as well as she, but his weapons are words, and they are carefully honed to maim and kill.]

[The dragon curls tighter, its golden eyes following each move Nyssa makes. It knows why she is here, and it may even move to attack if need be.]

[Tyrion does not need to tell her what big teeth she has - he merely twists his wrist and more words appear in the air.]

You're the monster, Uncle!

Oh a monster? Then perhaps you should speak more softly. Monsters are dangerous, and right now kings seem to be dropping like flies.

[truthvalue]

The inside of the shop dissipates, replaced by the interior of a high room in a tower of castle. There's a redheaded woman pulling something - or someone - up with a rope through the window. Her clothes are different, and it may be difficult to tell from behind, but when Natasha is able to get a glimpse of her face, she'll notice that the other woman bears a striking resemblance to herself.

What ends up coming through the window, after some effort, is a soaked-through grey-haired boy. It's Souji, and he climbs through the window the rest of the way, clumsily, dripping water everywhere. He coughs, bent over and gasping for breath.

"Thank you," he says to the other woman. "I thought I was going to be a fish for sure."

[truthvalue]

No. [Souji shakes his head, breathing heavily.] Just exhausted. We need to get him out of here - and Nanako, too, she's -

[His own exhaustion dissipates, replaced by panic.]

Is she hurt? She was having trouble breathing.

[truthvalue]

[There's a quiet chuckling from behind, then a voice rings out; it sounds very similar to Souji, but the difference is it's colder, polished like steel, where Souji's is warmer and unrefined.]

Careful, [the voice warns,] you could lose a finger like that.

[If Yosuke turns to look, he'll find it's not Souji standing there in the shop anymore - not exactly. His features are mostly the same, but there are small horns on his head, a pair of dusty red wings at his back, and a wicked smile on his face. He wears an old-style military coat and carries a long, this sword at his side. In his right hand, he holds an identical knife to the one Yosuke selected from the wall.]

[truthvalue]

Attention is a good place to start, but it's not all the demon wants out of this exchange. He leans in just a hair closer, so that when he speaks, his lips brush against the outside of his ear.

"I don't normally operate like this," he says (a lie, a calculated lie, one they usually fall for), "but in your case, I'm willing to make an exception. You determine the terms."

[catamite]

[well, he has pointed ears, so that's probably a pretty good indicator that he's probably not from good ol' Earth. but he seems absorbed in the story of it either way.]

Is that how it always was? ...School and stuff?

[killedwithlove]

Not everyone wants to go back home. Elize doesn't. She wants to go with Cullen and Jove, back to their world.

I don't want to go back to Thedas. I don't really have anymore there than here.

[mortalcoil]

For all of the puzzling and plotting he does on an average day, it takes a simple social question to baffle him. This is taking more thought than it should, and taking him too long to work through what to do with it.

He doesn't normally have to think about these things. He just does them. It's just how the world works.

So, after more frowning, and taking a moment to rub the back of his neck uncomfortably, finally adds on, 'I hide all the time.'

[killedwithlove]

Things about people that hurt them. I can't tell you a lot of them, because they're private. But I know them, I know how it feels and what causes it. But... sometimes people think and feel different and I can't really understand that?

[killedwithlove]

[Cole stays close to her, shifting and resting his head slowly on her shoulder. He has to shift his hat to do so, but he sighed out a soft breath.]

He feels like he's good.

[touchofrogue]

You know how ta play, right? Just move the pieces.

[stefanged]

Yeah, for a little bit.

[Stefan laughs, right as the room fades into a memory. A slightly younger Stefan walks up to Elena (who also looks younger than she does on the Fleet) as they head towards school.

"[Your friend Bonnie] doesn't like me very much," he's saying, turning to Elena with some confusion.

"She doesn't know you. She's my best friend. She's just looking out for me. But when she does, she will love you."

On a grassy mound nearby, two guys are playing catch with an American football. From this distance, Stefan shouldn't be able to hear them, and yet - their grumbling comes through loud and clear.

A dark-haired guy's narrating, "Look...there's Elena and her new boyfriend. Now, what are they doing? Oh, they're walking, walking, walking. Yep. Right into the sunset."

His friend looks at him. "You're a dick."

"While you just stand there looking like one of those little yard trolls."

Elena, though, is telling Stefan, "Here's what we're going to do. Are you free tonight?" When Stefan says he is, she continues, "Perfect. Dinner, my house. 8:00. You, me, and Bonnie. You two will spend some quality time and she'll get to see what a great guy you are. Mission accomplished."

The boys continue - well, the blond one does, "Hey, what am I supposed to do, Ty? She made her choice."

"Let her know she made the wrong one." With that, Ty catches the football and without any hesitation whatsoever, he pulls back, aiming straight for the back of Stefan's perfectly gelled head---

"What are you doing? Ty, don't. Ty! Don't! Ty!"

Stefan's head is in perfect view, right as Tyler aims for the back of it - except, as it comes flying over, Stefan turns a perfect 180 and catches it with his hands. He gives Ty a smirk, throwing it back - and making Tyler stagger from the weight of his throw.

As the boys stare at him, Stefan shrugs it off before walking into the school building with Elena, and Elena lets out a nervous, impressed laugh.

The memories are more jumbled from here on out, with flashes of an American high school stadium and Stefan practicing with the other boys - including a very disgruntled Tyler. There's a flash of... blood? One of those games ended in a death, you can feel it.

Except when that wave of discomfort washes over you, the football field fades back into Stefan's room, and he's wearing the football jersey. His expression is one of concern as he looks over at Yosuke.

> Are these memories worth keeping?]

[touchofrogue]

This is my place.

[A shrug. She didn't feel the need to introduce herself, really.]

I stay here, but ya don't have to. Go ahead, make your choice.

[unmaker]

[the kid gasps when Robin uses a language he shouldn't be able to know, but then frowns when he points out the imperfect mask.

even at a young age, that curse of vanity runs deep.]

A little while... I'm still learning...

[sounding maybe a little defensive there.]

[unmaker]

[the kid tilts their head, more like a bird than a person. but, an explanation like that makes more sense here than it would have somewhere else.]

...Are we friends?

[heresyandlace]

[Tek just smiles down at him, and props his chin in his hand.]

Sorry. I was getting bored.

[heresyandlace]

You think so, do you?

[oh yes, he sounds skeptical.]

[cpt_ressentiment]

[ He doesn't jump, but only just barely - he does whirl around to face the other, catching the dagger firmly and sure, gripping the hilt and holding it in front of him in a defensive stance.

Yeah, that looks like Yu. Like Souji. Whatever. But it's not. And if he has to, he'll just keep telling himself that, like a mantra in his mind.

His eyes quickly flick over Souji - horns. wings. coat. sword. that other knife. - before he meets his gaze again. ]

Hey, you don't have to worry about that, man. I think I know what I'm doing. [ Beat. ] So who are you supposed to be?