open rp post

[stellationing]

Leave me a scenario (one of your own or choose from here) and include any particular preferences as well if you wish.

Or, if you want to just leave a comment with a picture or a word as a prompt and suggest which muse of mine you want, that works too! I might just be a bit slow with those.

Make a reply asking for anyone here on the subject title.

If you choose a character on the maybe list, I will definitely be slow with them.

If you know a specific "verse" of character you want, specify. If it's a cross-canon scene and you don't specify, you might get a CR AU.

Alternately, if you'd rather place a comment on the muse's contact post. Or if you want to do something a little more privately, let me know and I'll set something up elsewhere.

Go to the RNG if you don't have a specific scenario in mind.

Have fun!

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[vampere]

He hears, more than sees, her reaction as the doors slide shut behind them. And if the brief moment where her heart very nearly skips a beat would be all but unnoticeable to anyone else, it's not so to him, not when he's spent several lifetimes more or less at her side.

But this isn't Worth, drawing her back in time yet again. Nor is it earlier still, when Druitt had taken to lurking down darkened alleys. No, this is now, nothing more than a virtual replica of the streets they know so well, and for a brief moment, his fingers brush against her hand. A subtle gesture, but one he offers in the hopes it'll help dispel the brief moment of distress.

Not that he actually says anything about it, once the moment passes. It's something he understands the reason behind, but it's not something that really needs to be spoken of. The past should stay the past, especially when the point of this little excursion is to enjoy themselves.

"It should be," he agrees with a nod, offering Helen his arm properly. "And I don't see any reason why not."

He knows, of course, that whoever they should happen to meet here isn't going to be James and he isn't so much as expecting it. But neither can he deny it will be nice to figure out who they're meant to be and how far into the story they are.

[lifelines]

Nikola's subtle gesture does not go unnoticed. Helen feels it as surely as she feels her own breath, her own heartbeat. For a moment, she remains there, frozen in place. Then her hand twitches back towards his, her fingers all but squeezing his hand in a return gesture that is just as small as his. They don't need words now. Gestures are everything for them. His action brings a reaction from her and that's all they need.

The moment passes and she moves to take his arm fully, resting her hand on his arm and leaning on him perhaps slightly more than protocol back then required and certainly more than she strictly needs to. That is, as the other was, another signal between them, speech without words. She appreciates his presence and his support. He is the only person who can get away with this and who even knows how to do the thing properly. Nikola grounds her as no one else can. Somewhere along the line he became someone she could truly lean against.

On their trek onward, several people pass, giving nods and a greeting of, "Doctor." This does little to shed light on which one the doctor is. Or which doctor. Doctor Watson, Helen assumes, but with these programs it can be more complicated. So in they walk to St. Bartholomew's, where they discover...

Absolutely nothing.

A frown creases Helen's brow as she glances around. "Well... that tells me we aren't in the beginning at least." Not the beginning of what she expects, at any rate. "I'll take suggestions now." She has a few ideas of course, but this is supposed to be a joint effort. May as well see what Nikola thinks.

[vampere]

Doctor Watson would be the most reasonable assumption, it's true. But despite knowing full well that it isn't going to be, Tesla can't quite shake the hope that the Watson they'll find will be an old friend, long since gone. Of course, the more rational side of him is well aware that no one would even have had so much as a reason to program in the Watson they both know and have missed, but that doesn't mean that there isn't still that flicker of hope, even if he doesn't consciously recognize it as such.

Instead, he does his best to at least not look like he's entirely ignoring the greetings they get as they make their way through the streets on the off-chance that they're referring to him; and though he's not entirely thrilled to find nothing at St. Bartholomew's, Helen's right. It does tell them a little more about when in the story they are, if not in any particularly great detail.

"Baker Street or Scotland Yard would be the most obvious choices."

And also the ones that would be most likely to have some sort of clue as to just who they happen be. Or, barring that, people who might be able to indicate if there had been any sort of crime committed recently, which would be a not unreasonable - if also slightly imperfect - way of telling where they happen to be in the story.

[lifelines]

Helen is trying not to entertain the idea of seeing the Doctor Watson they both know in here. It would be far too cruel and painful a blow to her after so long. His death was entirely her fault, as were several other events to follow, and she would rather let that remain in her mind.

"Given our history, I should think Scotland Yard will hold our answers," Helen quips.

Given their history, they might meet someone else there, but at this point, she thinks Scotland Yard is their best bet. Good to know they still think very similarly.

With that in mind, she turns back for the exit, keeping her hand exactly where it is on his arm so as to keep up appearances. It would never do to seem improper and considering the time period they are currently walking through a great deal could be considered improper. A part of her misses this time period, but then she steps into a recreation like this and is reminded of why she prefers the future.

The streets of London don't hold many clues, which is equally frustrating, but she keeps her eyes open, knowing Nikola will do the same. "Nothing appears any different from a normal day," she observes. "It's almost perfect. Too perfect. Which means either the event has long since past or it soon will happen."

[vampere]

"Scotland Yard it is, then."

He is, of course, just as aware as she is that they might run into someone else there, a flicker of a remnant of their past, but Lestrade, at least, has not ever been much of a thorn in their side. And if they should happen across anyone else claiming to be either Watson or Holmes, at least they'll have their answer. Anything past that, he mostly figures he'll deal with as it comes up. Or if it comes up, which might perhaps be the more likely case - holodeck or no, they are still in what amounts to a work of fiction and it's been a very long time since he's had reason to read any of these particular works.

(And had, perhaps, been more interested in amusing himself with the differences between the reality and the fiction instead of the actual tales themselves.)

For now, however, he's content to simply head back out into the streets of the city. Sooner or later they'll manage to catch up with whatever passes for the storyline, and in the meantime he's more than glad to spend a (relatively) quiet evening with Helen, even if it does mean he has to put in the effort to actually remember the assorted rules and etiquette of the time period.

(Reminiscing is all well and good, but like her he tends to prefer the future on the whole.)

"Soon, I think," he answers, after a brief moment of consideration. "If it were that long after it wouldn't fit the narrative structure quite as well. Although we should be able to pick up a paper on the way."

Of course, that will also require one or the other of them to have the appropriate sort of money and is also no real guarantee that they'll find anything of interest, but it might give them more of an idea as to approximately what to expect.

[lifelines]

"Assuming, of course, that we have access to the right set of currency," Helen murmurs, her mind following the same track as Nikola's. In this sort of environment, it wouldn't be too difficult to just ask the computer to give them money, but where's the fun in that?

Of course, there is another option, naturally, and she glances at Nikola, wondering if he has come to the same conclusion. He likely has -- they seem to operate on something of the same wavelength half the time regarding things like this -- but just in case, she adds on, "Or we have someone who can find our money for us."

Find, make, it's all the same when you're electromagnetic.

[vampere]

"Oh, I think we might."

Judging by the smirk that follows his words, his thoughts are definitely more along the lines of 'make'. It's easier, for one, and also doesn't rely on any of the virtual people actually having pockets to pick.

(Also he's an awful pickpocket and doesn't want to end up having to explain why someone who might or might not be one Dr. Watson (but not that Dr. Watson) has stopped to something as unlawful as petty thievery.)

Still, even with the fact that he's pretty sure that she knows exactly what he's going to be getting up to he can't help but show off a little, raising one hand and showing it off like a magician indicating that he has nothing up his sleeve before slowly and carefully closing his hand into a loose fist. The rest, unfortunately, is not particularly interesting to watch, as he sets about seeing exactly where he needs to do a little gentle prodding to convince the program to provide what they're looking for. Of course, neither is he about to let a simple thing like that stop him. The technical work of what he's doing isn't much to look at, but he has... other options.

Namely, letting a few flickers of lightning play over his fist while he works, careful to keep them where only she can see them, and not any of the people who might be passing them by. The last thing they need is for him to accidentally start a panic.

Fortunately, then, it doesn't take him to long to figure out what part of the program he needs to go poke around in, and he lets the lightning fade as he opens his fist to reveal assorted era-appropriate change.

"I think that should probably do, don't you?"

[lifelines]

Helen meets Nikola's smirk with a very pointed expression of her own, her lips pursed into a rather tight line. Really, Nikola? Not that she expected anything else than what she gets, but it's the principle of the matter. Giving him some variation of that expression is as expected as him showing off to earn that expression.

She decides not to grace him with a response until he's provided her with the change. Only then does she glance downward, still slightly disapproving. The only good thing is that he had the presence of mind not to panic the other characters. They could have dealt fine with a panic in the holodeck, but it's really better that they didn't have to worry with it.

"That should do," she agrees. Not-so-gently guiding Nikola towards a newspaper stand, she dips slightly before nodding at the papers the man is carrying. "I'll take one, if you please."

"Of course, Doctor Watson," the man answers quickly, scrambling to fulfill her wish. She nods to Nikola to pay the man -- just because she can at this point, not because it would be expected of the time period -- and he tips his head to them both. "Good to see you, Doctor Watson."

Helen makes sure they have several paces between them and the helpful man before she glances at Nikola, eyebrows raised. "Not the turn I would have expected."

Because if she is Doctor Watson, that means he is Sherlock Holmes. Interesting.

[vampere]

It very much is the principle of the matter. And if she hadn't given him exactly the expression she does in return, he would have no doubt started wondering if everything was alright. But she does, and all is right with the world - and to be honest, he hadn't much expected her to grace him with a response until after he'd managed something.

(He is, of course, also fully prepared to defend his decision if he has to. But if the worst she has to offer is a bit of disapproval, that's not so bad. Not when he has, in fact, dealt with worse.)

Not that he's particularly thrilled about being asked to pay for the paper, but he's aware that it is what would have been expected and that alone is enough to see to it that he does as she requests. (And to be fair, he probably would have anyway, but he figures he might as well show a little resistance to the idea, even if only because she probably expects it of him.) On the other hand, the endeavor does also tell them who they're meant to be and that is very much something that he considers worthwhile. Even if it is a little unexpected.

Still, while he offers a polite nod in return at the man, he doesn't speak again until after they've put some distance between them and him - it's probably for the best if they don't let on that they hadn't been entirely aware of who people would have been assuming them to be.

"I wouldn't have either." There's a pause there, and then a grin spreads his way across his. "But I can live with this particular revelation. And besides, you always have been the better doctor, of the two of us."

Which isn't to say that he's incapable of such things. But he's never really taken to it terribly well either, the way she seems to have.

[lifelines]

There were, quite literally, a thousand things he could have done that would have been worse than what he had. Though Nikola had earned Helen's very pointed stare, it was expected and not the worst thing he could have done. Helen might be mildly frustrated, but she is far from outright angry. This is something they can handle.

She does, however, roll her eyes in response as they move forward through the streets. Of course he would prefer to be Holmes. Naturally. She's starting to think that this might not have been the best endeavor if she didn't want to feed his ego.

"Don't let it go to your head," she mutters, glancing around the streets and gently tugging Nikola in the direction of Baker Street.

It's unfortunate that they won't get very far with this, as the holodeck program flickers for a few seconds, causing Helen to stop in her tracks. It... wasn't supposed to do that.

She manages to get out, "What in the world," before the program flickers again and everything freezes. Helen and Nikola can still move about, but nothing else is working and when she calls for the computer to show the exit, nothing happens.

Nothing happens at all. The whole holodeck seems to be broken and, for the moment, the two of them are stuck inside.

"Bloody hell."

[vampere]

To be fair, neither of them had really known who they were going to be, before stepping into the simulation proper. Not to mention that Tesla, at least, isn't familiar with any particular renditions of the story where Dr. Watson had been female. But neither is he familiar enough with holodecks to know when and where their programmed to make slight changes in the way things had been laid out in the story - not to mention for all he knows, the computer generated characters are seeing her as a man.

(Which is an interesting thought, and one he might have to look into later.)

It's the flickers that catch his attention first, although - as ever - it's Helen who manages to succinctly sum up the situation. He agrees with her assessment too, or rather the unspoken comment that none of this bodes well. He might certainly have been able to convince the program that they'd had a bit of money all along, but this is something entirely different.

"It is fascinating, though. Worrying, yes. But still fascinating."

[lifelines]

"Fascinating enough to get stuck in here?" Helen questions, looking around to see if the exit is showing yet. Luckily, at least one of them helped develop this technology, so whatever has happened shouldn't prove impossible to fix. Difficult, certainly, but not impossible.

"Computer, exit," she commands. Again, nothing happens. She sighs in frustration. They're stuck. A rattling somewhere off in the direction of Baker Street tells her that either someone is trying to get in through a side maintenance shaft or they're trying to pry open the doors. Either way, at least they know that someone is trying to get this fixed.

"Looks like we're stuck in here. We need to find a way out. Do you think you can use your magnetism again, like you did in the computer system in Old City?" It won't quite be the same, but it might at least be a good attempt. Better than sitting around here to wait for a rescue.

And while she made a conscious effort not to phrase the magnetic question the same way she had back then, she still manages not to phrase it in a way that doesn't leave things wide open for him.

[vampere]

"Fascinating because we're stuck in here," he answers, mostly as a correction. It might not have been anything they'd intended to come out of this evening - or at least, nothing he had intended to come out of it - but that doesn't mean there might not be unique opportunities all the same. And given that he's heard the rattling in the distance, he's fairly certain that they're only going to have so much time to learn whatever they can by this.

On the other hand, he supposes it's probably a good thing that someone's noticed that things aren't exactly running as they should be. Even if he isn't entirely certain if someone breaking into the system from the outside would be a good thing just at the moment.

But that's a minor consideration. Especially given that despite her best efforts to the contrary, she has given him the same sort of opening that she did so many years ago, when they were stuck inside a different sort of computer system.

"Mmm, I'm not sure. Would you say you were experiencing some attraction, just at the moment?"

The tone of his voice is more than enough to imply what he's getting at, although the unspoken 'or should I try harder' is all but audible all the same, especially given the grin that accompanies his comment.

(He'll get back to the actual question she's asked in just a moment.)

[lifelines]

Helen doesn't even bother to answer right away. Her immediate reaction to his innuendo is to berate herself inwardly for leaving herself wide open to that one. Perhaps if they weren't in this particular situation, she might be more open to it and willing to banter back with him; she has, after all, loosened up in her old age. However, with things the way they currently are, the most she wants to do is get on with finding a solution.

"Focus, Nikola," she says instead of any of this. "We need to find an access panel. From there we can access diagnostics." If the computer can tell them what's wrong, they have a chance of fixing it easily. Otherwise, this will get very difficult very quickly.

Either way, she starts towards the back wall. They might not have built this holodeck -- no one on the station did, seeing as the station itself was a Cardassian station built during the Occupation of Bajor -- but they have seen enough of the technology of this century to figure it out. Eventually, her hands run across a panel that she pries off. "Here we are. Let's see what we can find here, shall we?"

Nikola might stand the better chance of actually doing anything with the system due to his abilities, but Helen is on hand for advice and bouncing ideas.

[vampere]

He notices it too, the way she doesn't offer something in return. It's not necessarily out of the ordinary, not when the entirety of their lives are taken as a whole, but it is unusual. Especially these days, when he's come to take her having loosened up somewhat rather in stride. But he doesn't blame her either. Flirting aside, even he has to admit that it's not exactly an ideal situation. Not when they can't exactly stay indefinitely - the holodeck might be all well and good, but he's pretty sure it can't do anything about the fact that they do still need to eat.

(And he highly doubts that this particular story is one that is particularly well-geared to dealing with his... unique dietary needs.)

Still, he follows her without so much as a second thought. With everything frozen at it is, he can't very well track any spikes in the power grid like he did the last time they were trapped in a virtual reality. But an access panel is good enough. Or perhaps even more than, considering that it's a much more direct way to get at the system than anything he'd been dealing with earlier.

"Well. It's not exactly a system I can claim to be familiar with. But it shouldn't be too hard to figure out what's gone wrong."

Not when he has his electromagnetism to call on, and this is - if nothing else - a much more benign use of than what he'd done earlier, as he places a hand gently on the wall not far from the panel. It'll take time, yes, but they should still have that, if nothing else.

(And it's certainly not as if the still-frozen characters are going to be so much as the slightest danger, besides.)

[lifelines]

Helen watches carefully, taking note of what she can see of Nikola's efforts from this side. She has a feeling that whatever he's trying to do isn't going as well as the last time they had to do something like this. Or, rather, it's going about the same.

She may regret making that comparison later.

"I wouldn't be so certain of that. It is a Cardassian system," she points out. The Cardassians are known to the Bajorans for being ruthless and she's heard stories of how finicky the station itself can be. Still, this is Nikola working on it. How hard can it be?

She'll regret that thought later, as well.

"Was the power supply somehow interrupted? Can you tell?"

While he works, she keeps an eye out for the characters in the program, just in case he should get it restarted. The last thing they need is a repeat of her entrance into 1898 London. The second time.