nexus_crossings | [Nexus LOL] Technomagic was Never meant to work like this

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[Nexus LOL] Technomagic was Never meant to work like this

It's a beautiful day in this ~~neighborhood~~ Nexus. A really beautiful day.

Six-winged birds singing, flowers blooming everywhere one looks. From far off in the distance on the other side of the Nexus people wandering the Plaza will hear a sudden loud noise and feel a very minor shake but there's no invading force. No colossal calamity to be bested. Now for the poor sod who used to own the internet cafe that's just been blown to smithereens in a cascade of firework trails raining down it's a very bad day. Tina's still swearing about Aimbots and cheaters while waving around a game controller that isn't plugged into anything while the fire burns. She's not going to stop when the potions shop next door catches flame either.

But alllll the way back in the plaza? There's no sign of trouble. Maybe the faintest glimpse of fireworks. The smell of gunpowder mingling with a bitter herb and a touch of...ozone? Honestly with all the pollen in the air it's difficult to tell. Precisely Because it's the Nexus the fallout from this ill conceived haze may not be easily noticed at first.

A flicker of a little symbol over someone's head while they're reading a book. People cutting off mid conversation to glance at their conversation partners. Or rather, over their heads. So many little 😮 popping up over heads as confusion starts to spread only to rapidly dissipate into a myriad of other little pictures when people seem to realize that whatever the flavor of the day weirdness is, it's not seemingly dangerous. Is there a rhyme or a reason to them? What could it mean? Are you affected?

[Please refer to THIS POST in the OOC comm for an explanation of what's going on. The TL;DR to this Nexus LOL is that a character's innermost thoughts will be visible to anyone who is observing them whether they're speaking or not, but they will exclusively be communicated via Emojis. The OOC post has some guidelines for using these emojis in tags and some rules so please check there before posting in. Threadhopping and mingling are required for this post as there is no real Question Asker so Have fun!]

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Matt sighs, and a

pops up over his head. "Unfortunately. It wouldn't be so annoying if it wasn't all the same voice."

He takes the teasing in stride though.

"Ah, you say that, but you don't have to smell it. It's warm enough that the dumpsters are starting to get fragrant, not to mention the sewers." He's used to it, obviously, but the chance for a break away from that is very welcome.

Oh, well that's precious. Even if it is incredibly irritating to hear smiling face with heart shaped eyes repeated ad nauseum. Matt does not exactly hide his grin, even if it wasn't above his head in the shape of

. "Sounds like it's a very good reason."

"Sounds terrible."

"That's the Nexus for you. At least it's only a LOL. Things can get way worse around here."

"Okay, fair enough. Is the trash really that bad, or are you that much better at smelling things?"

Caspar glares at the laughing emoji floating above Matt's head. "My wife. I'm getting coffee for my wife."

"The girlfriend I told you about, we got married."

He looks up and sighs. It's irritating to have his thoughts on display, but he can't argue with the choices.

Matt grimaces, but does not dispute that. "You're telling me. I'll take this over last winter, any day." If Caspar was here during that, Matt hasn't heard about it, though he didn't get to know everyone who was stranded here during the storm either.

"Both," he answers with a chuckle. "There's a lot of trash in a city like New York. But my senses are better than most people's. They say that when you lose one sense, the others become more sensitive to compensate for the loss. Mine sort of... took that up to eleven."

Aww, he's upgraded to smiling face with smiling eyes and three hearts, which is so much longer to hear read out, but adorable nonetheless.

"Congratulations! She didn't want to come along, or too busy?" He won't judge, either way. Even before Daredevil began prowling the streets at night, it wasn't uncommon for Matt to spend late hours working.

Caspar frowns, displeased over Matt having been stuck in the Nexus during the storm. Not like he cares or anything, but... okay, the emojis don't lie. It doesn't seem right to be a civilian and blind and be caught up in something like that. "That sucks. You make it through okay? My PINpoint froze me out. Can't say I'm sorry I missed it."

He's heard of that happening to blind people before, so he's unsurprised by the answer. "Sounds like a mixed blessing. Makes me glad my sense of smell is average." He would have appreciated enhanced vision and hearing, but smell?

"She's in the middle of gardening."

Sorry, Matt, it's going to be a lot more of the same so long as Adia is part of the conversation. Although, now that Caspar thinks about it, is it really so bad for others to see how much he loves her? "Maybe I should talk her into joining me, though. I think this is a LOL she might like to see."

He pulls out his PINpoint and sends her a quick text. Just as he's putting it away, he catches those last three emojis above Matt's head. Devil punching books? What? That's a weird thing to think. Although it does remind him of something. "How's that vigilante of yours doing, by the way? Still beating the crap out of the bad guys?"

"Yeah, most of it. Took a few hard hits on the final raid, but I made it through alive. I'm all healed up now."

Whoops. He's gotten a little too used to people knowing that Daredevil and Matt Murdock are one and the same, it seems.

It's adorable that Caspar wants to share something like this with his wife, he's not gonna lie. Either because it's that sweet, or because he wants her to share in the confusion, although the text-to-speech he's hearing read out support the former rather than the latter. He's smiling when Caspar throws those last questions at him, and then his eyebrows go up, because oops, this is awkward suddenly.

"Well... there's been less bad guys to beat lately, but he's still around."

How unfortunate that

is right above his head.

It says a lot about how much Caspar trusts his wife, as well, if he's willing to let her see his innermost thoughts on display (in emoji form, at least) and doesn't seem concerned about what might pop up above her head.

Matt's emojis, however, are getting another confused stare.

He was injured during the final raid? What was he even doing there? Maybe he had accidentally wandered into the fight? No, that doesn't make any sense...

And then suddenly it becomes all very clear.

"Let me guess, Daredevil was here over the winter, too?"

Busted. Even if he hadn't slipped up, apparently his thoughts being broadcast to everyone in sight would be enough to out him. Matt throws an awkward, slightly nervous smile in Caspar's direction. "Yeah, he was. I'm... really kind of bad at sitting around when there's something I can do to help."

Though he's not exactly close enough to call Caspar a friend just yet, Matt has had some bad experiences with revealing his other side to people, as if they think he should have 'fessed up to it the moment they met. When is the good time to tell your acquaintances that you're a blind vigilante? He's never figured it out.

"If it makes you feel better, your secret is safe with me," Caspar says dryly.

"I have no interest in visiting Avengers Land, especially not after you described the smell."

There's probably no good time to reveal one's secret identity. Caspar's only feeling a little putout because he was actually worried about Matt for a hot minute. If he can kick ass while blind, then he can certainly take care of himself.

"...you, uh. You think I can see you in action sometime?"

Well, that's unexpected. Maybe there is something to this 'tell people sooner' thing after all. Foggy and Karen hadn't taken the news nearly as well, but that was after knowing him for years, and after he'd had to feign being less able than he actually is, in some cases. The PINpoint was something he really had needed help with, though, so maybe that helps.

The last emoji Matt hears makes him almost laugh, though he keeps it restrained to a sheepish sort of grin. The escrima thing made that big of an impact, huh?

"I mean, anything's possible? Probably not a great idea to come with me on the job unless you're good at parkouring in the dark, but... do you spar at all? Any kind of martial art? Or boxing?"

Caspar smiles very faintly at the sequence of emojis. It's really not that big a deal to him. If anything, it makes Matt far more appealing, that he also likes to solve problems with violence.

"Yeah, I spar. Boxing, mostly, but not as often as I'd like."

He pauses, shifting his weight uneasily. It's not like he's been hiding his true nature, but if Matt is willing to come clean, he probably should be upfront about what he is, too.

"I'm a Cylon. A biological robot. I'm stronger than the average human, and when I fight, I use that to my advantage."

Matt is very accustomed to listening to people's heartbeats to tell if they're lying to him, and even before the emojis can be read out loud to him, he can already tell that Caspar really isn't upset about being left in the dark. So to speak. Score one for early honesty?

The bombshell that gets dropped on him does make his eyes go wide, eyebrows raised in startled surprise. There's no moment of doubt that the other man is pulling his leg, because there is absolutely zero change in the rate of his heartbeat. Doubt no, surprise yes.

"I honestly wouldn't have guessed that. You sound exactly like a human to me." And smells like one, but people tend to find that part creepy, so Matt decides to keep that to himself for now.

Ugh, that robot emoji is terrible. At least Matt believes him. "Yeah, I get that a lot," he notes, dryly amused. "It's a long story about why biological Cylons are the way we are and not made out of metal or other inorganic material, but I'll spare you the details."

Caspar looks up briefly and coughs. Well, maybe not such a long story. Good thing there's no "thermonuclear warfare" emoji to sum it all up.

"But, yeah. You can only tell humans and Cylons apart based on subtle physiological differences. I'm not surprised you didn't notice." Cylons were made to blend in, after all.

"Well, that's a relief," Matt says with a small grin. "I was worried maybe you were blue this whole time and nobody told me."

Though those 'subtle physiological differences' must be really subtle if Matt couldn't pick up on them. Might be able to tell more if he could touch him, but that seems way too forward even for Matt, so he isn't remotely about to suggest it.

"I'm not any less breakable than your typical human, but if you think you can hold back from breaking bones, maybe we could go a few rounds sometime?"

Caspar can't help but be amused by the idea. "Blue's a great color on me. I would have let you known." Maybe in certain circumstances, Matt will be able to notice those differences. Not from touching, though, and thank goodness he doesn't even consider it enough for an emoji to appear, or Caspar wouldn't be nearly so relaxed.

"Yeah, I'd like that. I can modulate my blows." Although his tone is calm and casual, there's no way to hide the

above his head. He's looking forward to it!

It's then that Adia arrives, finally taking Caspar up on his suggestion to witness the latest Nexus shenanigans for herself. She's dressed in her gardening clothes and smells of fresh earth and sunshine. "Hello, husband," she greets Caspar sweetly, a bit of playfulness in the way she addresses him.

Whatever the physiological signs are for love, Caspar is displaying all of them right now, blushing and grinning at both his wife's words and emojis. "Hey."

He gives her a kiss, then nods his head towards Matt. "This is Matt. He's a lawyer."

Whoops. Crap. So much for keeping a secret. But Adia doesn't seem to notice, too busy giggling at the heart-related emojis that are like a permanent fixture over Caspar's head. She turns towards Matt and smiles. "Hi, Matt. Nice to meet you."

"Sorry it has to be during a LOL, but it's not so bad, all things considered."

Matt grins in Caspar's direction, a little amused at how much the Cylon is keeping himself in check compared to the incredibly unsubtle announcements that he's hearing of the other man's inner thoughts. "I'm game. Let me know when you're free, and we'll work something out."

He probably hears (and smells) Adia before she arrives, though Matt can't be certain she's the wife in question until he starts hearing hearts being read out again, and he doesn't quite cover his smile with his hand. Definitely can't cover the emojis over his head, even if he could detect where they are.

"Nice to meet you too," he says, amusement coloring his voice, though he doesn't offer a hand for shaking. She sounds like she's occupied with her husband for the moment, anyway, and Matt doesn't mind that one bit. "It could be way worse," he agrees, and the symbols above his head agree.

"You got it."

Still waters run deep, or something like that. Though Caspar does not hide his affection for his wife. He wraps an arm around her, wishing Matt wasn't blind because then he could see just how wonderful she is.

"Oh... yes, the winter storm." Matt was caught in that? "Oh, that's terrible! I'm so sorry."

She looks up at her emojis and blushes with embarrassment. Was that patronizing of her to think that he couldn't handle himself because of his blindness? "Ah, I mean, that'd be terrible for anyone. That was terrible for everyone."

Caspar gives her a reassuring squeeze. He's fairly certain that's not something anyone would take offense to, especially not Matt, who doesn't need to be worried about in the first place. "We already talked about that. He's fine. He comes here willingly now, so he's as masochistic as we are."

Even a blind man can see how much Caspar adores his wife. Ah, newlyweds.

Matt has had years to get used to the sorts of well-meaning missteps people make around blind people, so he doesn't mind Adia's little snafu much at all.

"It's not something I'd like to do again," he agrees mildly, with a small disarming smile on his face. Caspar's comment gets a laugh out of him though.

"At least some of that's the Catholicism," he jokes lightly. "Besides, it seems pretty unlikely that it'll repeat itself now that the season's turned. New York has some pretty brutal snowstorms sometimes, but nothing like that."

She still feels a little awkward about it, although Caspar's joke and the laughter that follows go a long way to putting her at ease.

Besides, it's nice to see Caspar getting along with someone new. Is Matt going to be a new friend?

She hopes so!

The joke about Catholicism is a complete miss for Caspar, who doesn't react at all, although Adia gets it after a moment's thought. The emoji symbol helps a great deal in that instance.

"No, but, um..." She pauses, fidgeting with hem of her shirt.

"Well, you never know what's going to happen here. The Nexus is very unpredictable."

"You're right about the snow," Caspar interjects. "Your New York probably doesn't have a vindictive winter spirit."

No love lost there, apparently.

"Not that I'm aware of." And Thank God for that, truly.

"Unpredictability doesn't bother me, as long as I can still get home," he adds, because after last winter, he's not taking that for granted either. "Though it'd be nice if things would stay where I remember them. Makes it a little easier to get around."

Though thinking of that...

Caspar was on a quest of utmost importance, wasn't he? "Last time I checked, there was a Starbucks around here, or something along those lines."

That's good to know. Although Matt's world is home to other magical nonsense.

That's okay, he doesn't have to go there to see Matt's sweet stick-fighting moves.

"Yes, that's right," Adia agrees. "Although the more people visit a place, the more likely it is to stay put."

Like, for example, certain coffee shops. Caspar wrinkles his nose at the mention of Starbucks.

"Starbucks is fine if there are literally no other options. I have a couple of favorites." He looks at Adia. "I was going to bring a cup back to you, but I got distracted. You want to come with?"

Adia giggles. "Sure. We can get it to go and I can show you the work I did in the garden."

Eh heh heh.

Caspar grins in anticipation of all those smooches. "Sounds like a plan. Nice talking to you, Matt. Good luck getting any work done."

"It was nice meeting you," Adia chimes in.

She and Caspar head off, little heart emojis streaming off behind them until they're out of text-to-speech range.

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[Nexus LOL] Technomagic was Never meant to work like this

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