video »

[eloquentness]

[ The feed opens up to a young woman sitting behind the counter of a flower shop. Several flower arrangements are lined up behind her, some more artfully arranged - and frankly, more gorgeous - than others.

(They're works in progress, okay?) On the bright side, she's sticking to safe combinations or single-flower bouquets, rather than branching out. ]

Hey, everyone. [ She beams into the camera; first impressions matter, after all. ] I've gotta ask, especially if you've been here a while: what's one thing you wish you'd known when you first got here?

I'm no stranger to parallel universes - trust me, living in Central City will do that to you - but it's still kind of surreal, you know? This doesn't have to be anything life-changing. It can be something small like, oh... I don't know, your new favorite coffee place?

Comments

video.

[puppydoctor]

How to get a job outside my field.

[Eleven years of his life back home, all dedicated to medicine - and it means nothing here, without having finished a residency. But still, he doesn't seem super bummed about it. Having a regular 9-5 gig does come with its benefits.]

Florist by choice, or assignment?

video.

[eloquentness]

[ Now this is incredibly relevant. Iris sits up straighter. ]

Assignment. I'd say "unfortunately," but it's steady work. I can't turn it down until I bulk up my CV, let alone establish a social media presence and... you know, lay down all of that groundwork again.

[puppydoctor]

I'm in the same boat.

[Well, sort of. Minus the specifics.]

I've got an MD, but no one wants an imPort in their residency, so I'm out of the only job I know how to do.

[eloquentness]

That's terrible! So they what, won't even take you seriously because you happen to be from another universe?

[puppydoctor]

Oh, no, it's more of the superpower thing. Kind of a safety issue.

[Especially when he has a criminal record that includes accidentally destroying a whole Starbucks.]

[eloquentness]

Oh. That's.... actually kind of understandable. [#yikes. whispered:] Sorry.

[puppydoctor]

Yeah, I can't say I blame them. Once of my powers is, like, making coffee appear, and that's not something you want in a patient's chest cavity.

[eloquentness]

Hold up. You mean you can do that too?

[ "Too," because as she'll demonstrate, she holds out her hand and refills her mug with a steaming cup of freshly brewed coffee. Americano style, because she can. ]

[puppydoctor]

[George watches, eyes widening, and then grins.]

Yep!

[He reaches to grab a glass off his desk, and as he holds it up in front of the camera, it fills with steaming, black coffee.]

[eloquentness]

[ Holy shit.

Iris brightens up immediately, returning his grin as she sets her mug aside.] Wow.

Okay, first? I thought I was the only one, and second? We're gonna have to taste-test each other's brew.

[puppydoctor]

Mine kind of changes with my mood. Which means it's usually pretty pathetic, but my girlfriend pretends not to notice.

[He gives a little "cheers" gesture with the mug, and takes a small sip.]

It makes a pretty useful weapon, too.

[eloquentness]

Ah, see, I used to work at a coffee shop. It'd be even more pathetic if mine sucked.

[ Not that she wants to return to the barista life anytime soon. ]

Huh. I can't say I've ever thought about that.

[puppydoctor]

I hadn't either, but then we had this huge blackout the other month, and things got a little desperate.

[eloquentness]

Blackout? What uh, what exactly do you mean by that? Massive power outages, lack of internet, all of the above...?

[puppydoctor]

Power outages. We still had the communicators, and we kept the hospitals up on generators, but that was about it. And just for extra fun, it coincided with a massive release of dangerous criminals.

[eloquentness]

Oh, that had to have been on purpose. [ She's guessing, but it doesn't seem like a stretch. ] Disable the power grid, disable the security system...

How long did it take to get everything back to “normal?”

[puppydoctor]

Yeah, that was the popular opinion. And jeez, I guess a couple of weeks? I was volunteering in the hospital then, it all sort of ran together.

[eloquentness]

Oh man. I can't begin to imagine what that must've been like.

[ Especially if the entire city (or cities?) was out for who-knows-how-long. ]

But... I'm glad you were there and able to help. Even if this isn't my world, I still feel like I should do as much as I can.