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[runawayandroid]

[Victor is looking straight into the camera; he's got nothing to hide, after all. He seems fairly nonchalant about being here, and he mostly is, except for a couple of concerns about people he's left behind. Sure, giant turtle cities are pretty weird as alternate dimensions go, but he can cope. At least people seem to be friendly enough, and it does sound like his help might be needed.]

Hey. My name's Victor, and I just got here, so I thought I'd say hi and see who else is here. I, uh, don't think many people will recognise me, unless my friends turned up as well and I just didn't see them. Mostly I'm looking for a couple of kids called Molly and Klara, so if anyone sees them can they let me know?

[He shrugs, and looks down at the console itself, now looking a little confused.]

Anyone know how these consoles work? I usually do okay with technology, but I can't even tell what these are made of. I don't want to mess around with them if I don't know if I can read the code... if they even run on code.

[He'll avoid mentioning why he's usually good with technology, though. He's not sure what kind of prejudices people even have here, and cyborgs usually make people a little uncomfortable even at home. He looks up again suddenly, having just remembered something.]

Speaking of which, I'm meant to find a job, apparently. Anyone know anyone who needs a mechanic or an electrician? I'm not officially trained, but I'm good for an amateur and I pick things up pretty quickly.

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[werethatgood]

First, hi, you don't have to freak out. In case you were going to freak out.

Second, don't try to put the consoles apart. They kinda melt into goo. It also stinks.

Third, it's me and Teddy here right now. I heard that Molly was here, but that was before I showed up. Well, me, Teddy, my dad, and a lot of other people, but you know what I mean.

Fourth, um.

Hi? It's not impossible to find a job.

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[runawayandroid]

[He's still going to freak out. Still, at least it's a fairly silent freak out for a couple of seconds before he speaks.]

...Cassie?

[Okay, okay he can cope with this. Dead people come back sometimes, it happens. Admittedly, it's never been anyone he knows personally, and it's Cassie, who he had a massive crush on once, but he can still cope. Probably.]

Uh. Hi? It's nice to see you... again.

[He smiles a little weakly.]

Thanks for the warning, I guess. And the information.

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[werethatgood]

[ ... okay. Small freakout, she can deal with. She even smiles at him, not exactly shyly, but not bright and easy, either. ]

Hi, Victor. And it's okay. All things considered, I thought the warning might spare you some. Trouble.

How're you?

[manofiron]

[ Ever on the lookout for more technologically minded people, Tony immediately takes note once Victor says the magic word. Mechanic. ]

What kind of mechanic are we talking here? Able to fix a broken lawnmower or the reconstruct a car from an old axle you found in a scrapyard?

[runawayandroid]

[Is that... that's Tony Stark. Like, Iron Man Tony Stark. Who Victor really did not want to see ever again.]

Seriously? After the mess in La Brea, you think you can just turn up and ask questions like nothing happened? ¿No me chingues?

[manofiron]

[ That gets a blink of uncertainty and moment's hesitation. What did he do at La Brea? A brief search of his memory turns up nothing, which either means he's forgotten, didn't think it was a big deal, or this is a case of mistaken universe. ]

Uh, actually, judging from what sounds like an introduction on your part, I was here first. Which means you showed up. Not me. And I... need a little more clarification before I can corroborate or deny your accusation. Do you mean La Brea the tar pits in Los Angeles or is this another world/country/nightclub issue?

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[superoverachiever]

You probably can't figure them out.

Not that I doubt your skills or whatever, but you'd have to be a wizard programmer.

...

And I don't mean just, like, a really good one.

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[runawayandroid]

Do you mean you'd have to have magic to be able to program them? I guess that would explain why they aren't talking back then. Man, I really should have picked up more magic 101 from Nico.

So, uh, do you have a name or do I just call you mysteriously helpful girl or something?

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[superoverachiever]

It's just how it is here. Everything runs on magic. Or interacts with magic. Or something. I'm pretty sure the only person who knew exactly how it worked was Eshai, and she's dead.

[She smiles a little bit at the 'mysteriously helpful girl.'] At this point I'm feeling more like Helpful Girl than I am White Tiger, but my name is Ava. Ava Ayala.

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[justlittle]

Previous attempts to hack or otherwise mess with the consoles have resulted in... well, messes. But I see you've already been warned of that.

I'm afraid I can't help you find work, [Probably unsurprising, coming from an eight year old.] but welcome to Keeliai, Victor. My name is Bean, and I've been here... a while. If you have any questions.

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[runawayandroid]

[Victor's got a slightly concerned look, because it sounds like Bean's one of the visitors here too, and even though Victor's perfectly aware of how dangerous kids can be, this one still looks way too young to be here. Still, if he's been here a while, presumably he's learnt to cope.]

Unfortunately, yeah, I know they're more magic than anything else.

[He sighs, because magic is totally not his speciality.]

Thanks for the welcome, though, dude. You're one of the people they pulled here, right? Where are you from?

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[justlittle]

[Bean's eyeroll at the word "magic" is noticeable, as is his sigh at having to accept magic as a thing.]

That is correct. Originally? I'm from Rotterdam. But before I was here, I was in space.

[fuckcable]

I think there's a Molly around here somewhere. Or was. But she definitely wasn't a kid. There's a Clara, but she isn't a kid either.

[Which isn't what this kid wants to hear, so Ric will field one of the other questions too.]

The computers are biological. Don't mess with 'em too much.

[runawayandroid]

Nah, it's fine. Friend of mine let me know neither of them is here, so it must be a different Molly and Klara.

[He half-smiles.]

Yeah, I'm getting that. Which is kind of a problem, but I'll live. Thanks, though.

[fuckcable]

No problem. So how do you know the illustrious Mr. Stark?

[He has long since perfected the tone of voice that can make anything - in this case, "the illustrious" - sound like "that asshole".]

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[problematical]

You'll break them.

[ Because what is context or introduction. ]

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[runawayandroid]

[Victor looks mildly disconcerted, but tries to make conversation anyway.]

What am I breaking? If it's the consoles, I got that already. Who thought magic computers were a good idea?

[backinakidflash]

There's been a coupla girls named Molly here. One was a kid. Younger than me. She had this. [he waves his hands around his head.] Hat. It was almost as loud as her mouth.

[He frowns a little.] She got sent home awhile back. Probably better that way.

I'm Bart. Welcome to jungle.

[runawayandroid]

If the hat was some kind of animal or something and she was super strong, then yeah, probably the Molly I'm thinking of.

[He looks relieved at the news. He's not exactly happy she was here alone, but at least she apparently left just fine.]

Thanks for letting me know, dude. Uh, did she mention anything about the rest of us when she was here?

/videos in 15 minutes late with starbucks

[myownbestfriend]

Hello, Victor.

[She knows most people are farther down the timeline than she is, so she's not sure how Victor might feel about her.]

None of your friends are here...and the better for them, really.

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[runawayandroid]

Hello. I don't know if you remember, but we sort of met once.

[And by "met" he means fought and then sort of made up afterwards. He'd been more impressed by Beast at the time, though. Probably best not mentioning that.]

And Molly was down at your school yesterday. Uh, our time, I guess. But yeah, people keep giving me that impression.

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[tomemyoutliers]

They're a combination of organic material and technology - most likely unique to our host due to their specific evolution in order to prevent tampering with. I've been itching to get my hands on them properly, but I've tried for months with no success.

( It's an ongoing project that's doomed to end in failure, but that hasn't stopped Shockwave before. )

As for a job - is there anything in particular you'd like to work with?

( Can Shockwave hire for Bruce Wayne? Probably not, but that's not going to stop an attempt. )

[runawayandroid]

No-one actually mentioned that bit before, but I guess it makes sense. Uh, how many of them have you melted?

[Does that make them cyborg consoles? In which case, he's not sure he wants to try and take one apart. He hesitates, before carrying on.]

Computers, if they're not weird magic cyborg constructs. I don't think I get to be picky, though, so basically, as long as it's metal and it's technological in nature, I can usually cope with most things.

/late

[goodanswer]

I don't think you really need to worry about the consoles. Unless you wanna mess with them.

/nope and hi

[runawayandroid]

It's mostly just really strange. Well, that and it might have been useful to me, but if I can't, I can't.

[He shrugs.]

I'm just going to have to live with it, I guess.