Application: Dr. Mohinder Suresh, "Heroes"

[drmonologue.livejournal.com]

((Okayed by the other Heroes muns!))

An Indian man walks into the Sorting Room, carrying a small duffel bag, a computer bag, and a briefcase. Unlike many other applicants, he doesn't seem particularly shocked by his presence in this room; rather, he looks around with purpose, giving a satisfied nod as he surveys his surroundings.

When he spots the quill and parchment he smiles to himself and speaks in a cultured British Indian accent. "Now, how does this work?" He only registers the slightest surprise when the Dictaquill writes down his words.

"Very well, then." He sits down at the table and begins to attend to his application. "I think I can write it myself, though. Er..." He hesitates. "Thank you anyway?" He picks up the quill and begins to write.

1. What is your favorite cheese? Why is it your favorite?

I quite like paneer, which comes from my home country and is somewhat similar to feta. He smiles again, a little sadly this time, fingering the edge of the parchment as he considers his answer. Since coming to America I have to confess I developed something of a fondness for macaroni and cheese, though.

2. Who would you kill first, Barney or Carrottop?

Mohinder stares at the question for a moment before answering. That seems a little... unorthodox. Neither, I should think.

3. What time is it where you are?

He looks at his watch. Seven minutes to twelve. How ironic.

4. If you were Albus Dumbledore returned from the dead, which member of the Order of the Phoenix would you sexually harass? How would you harass them? If you are Albus Dumbledore, please answer as if you were Sirius Black.

Again, he finds himself staring. His cheeks darken slightly. I think that's a little inappropriate, really. But... Tonks does remind me slightly of someone I know knew.

5. If you are pushing to be in:

A. Slytherin - please state the clever, witty name of the bar in which you bartend, in the dark.

He has to think about this for a bit. Bartending is not exactly his specialty. He hardly ever even drinks. Evolutionary Cup of Chai Cura Finally, he writes The List and leaves it at that.

B. Gryffindor – Debate whether Harry should ultimately end up married to Fred or George. Use examples from a variety of world mythologies to bolster your argument.

The question is a little odd, but he's on infinitely more solid ground here. Well, the number three is an extremely powerful one in the mythologies of many countries. Many religions hinge on the concept of three dieties acting in tandem -- Christianity, Mithraism, Hinduism. Some mythologies even contain references to threesomes, such as Min, the Egyptian god of lettuce and sex, and his relationship with Qadash and Reshep.

On the other hand, the natural pattern of evolution indicates that one must inevitably choose one mate and not two. But as that relates to bearing children, it may not be relevant to this discussion. Yet I believe that whether homo- or heterosexual, evolution guides us all; therefore Harry might be far happier following those guidelines that nature has set out and selecting one of the two. In this particular case I don't know enough about either of the two to determine which match would be more successful, and of course in the end it must really be up to Harry.

C. Ravenclaw – You guys are supposed to be smart. Explain why my desk is inundated with paperwork at all times, even though I’m constantly disposing of it.

Perhaps you're a professor, and every time you manage to clear your desk your students pile more on. Or if you're in research, you're probably just adding more and more to the pile every day without even realizing it.

D. Hufflepuff – Prove you are not useless.

Mohinder has what is probably the natural reaction to this question and bristles slightly. He's just a little sensitive about being called useless! I hardly consider myself to be useless. Until recently I was a professor at Chennai University in Madras specialising in genetics and evolution. Since leaving I've been working on an algorithm to predict the likelihood of special abilities in any given individual as well as globally. Plus I have this list

I also make very good tea.

6. Offer a bribe to the members of this community so that they will not squib you. Items used in bribery do not necessarily have to belong to the person offering the bribe. Do not threaten us rather than offering a bribe. A threat indicates you either don't really want to be here, or don't have enough sense to answer the question properly. The hat will automatically squib you, regardless of other votes, if you do.

Ah. A bribe. Hm. Mohinder eyes his bags and answers aloud. "Yes, well. I do have some things I could part with. On me at the moment I have my wallet, some clothes -- I have a few scarves I could give away -- some packets of chai, my cell phone... My computer, but I'm afraid I need that. Um..." He starts digging through his pockets thoughtfully, pulls out a crumpled piece of paper and a worn photograph, but smiles ruefully and puts them back. "No, I'm afraid I can't give those away. I suppose that's it, then. Oh, and I can certainly teach a lesson or two, if you like. And I'm a very good driver."

He has a few more things in his bag, nestled in among the clothes; but those, he thinks, had best stay hidden.


"I have read the hogwarts_hocus faq, and understand it is a crazy, cracktastic sorting community and RPG. ___MS_________
I have read the hogwarts_hocus rules and agree to abide by each and every one of them. ____MS_______.
I agree to be a good sport and not get my knickers in a bunch. _____MS______.
One day, marmalade will rule the world. ____MS_________"

Comments

[mmm-brainz.livejournal.com]

'Skulking', really, was the only word to describe what Sylar was doing. Hard to do much of anything else, really - he'd found himself a bit (http://community.livejournal.com/hogwarts_hocus/1398711.html) injured (http://community.livejournal.com/hogwarts_hocus/1393385.html) between the last week or so, robots and damned Peter Petrelli. So... skulking. Around the castle. In the library. In the Sorting Room. Painfully boring.

And of all people he was expecting to show up at this school...

He could have probably stood behind Mohinder for a good ten minutes and the guy wouldn't have even noticed. "Fancy finding you in these parts."

[drmonologue.livejournal.com]

It wouldn't have mattered where he was -- honestly, it wouldn't matter if it were five years from now. He would have recognized that voice anywhere. His blood ran cold. He stiffened where he sat, going rigidly tense. "Sylar," he whispered.

He didn't look. He didn't really need to, did he? He knew the man was there, and that was all he needed to know. He wondered if he could reach the gun in his briefcase before Sylar could get to him and decided that, no, he couldn't. But maybe if he stalled...

He cleared his throat, "I was fairly sure that you weren't dead," he said in a rather calmer tone of voice.

[done-hunting.livejournal.com]

Sam smiled at the applicant, eyes hungrily seeking out Mohinder's laptop. "Sure I couldn't get you to part with that?" he asked with a self-deprecating laugh. "Mine got kind of...damaged." Fair way to put it; turns out transfiguration practice and laptops don't mix. "Oh, um, I'm Sam." He held out one hand, trying uselessly to push back his emo bangs with the other. "Sam Winchester. Nice to meet you, professor."

[drmonologue.livejournal.com]

"It's nice to meet you too," Mohinder said politely, shaking Sam's hand. "My name is Mohinder Suresh. And, no..." He flashed another rueful smile. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I do need to keep it with me. It has some important things on it, and I'm still using it in my research. Assuming I can get it to work here, at least." Suddenly, he appeared to be keenly interested. "Was yours damaged by the magical field?"

[totallyluminous.livejournal.com]

'Special abilities?' Mel asks coolly, eyes not leaving his Hufflepuff answer. 'What sort of special abilities?'

Now, she has nothing against men of science usually, but when you've been trapped in another century and being told you're going to be experimented on, Mel has to say she's rather suspicious of anything that interferes where it's not always its business.

[drmonologue.livejournal.com]

Mohinder was used to being treated skeptically by this point, so he completely misintepreted Mel's coolness. He stifled a sigh and pressed on with the usual explanation. "Things that some would consider super-human, even impossible. Flight. Telekinetics. Regeneration. Advanced genes that allow for extraordinary things." The problem was, he thought tiredly, that if they didn't believe you before the speech, they pretty much never did afterwards. And generally, they thought you were insane.

But of course, he was right, and he knew it, which helped. Excitement flickered in his eyes. "They are real. I've seen them."

[damnrap.livejournal.com]

The sorting room -- heck, that and the whole damn castle -- was a deafening hubbub of voices, so it took a little while before Dale realised that she recognised one of them. Another second and she'd put a face to it, in a moment of horrified realisation.

(He wasn't the last person she wanted to see here, but he came close.)

There was a whole lot of angry Dale Smither, standing very suddenly in front of Mohinder. "What the hell are you doing here, Suresh?" The volume of her own voice made her twitch uncomfortably.

[drmonologue.livejournal.com]

Mohinder had pretty much the exact opposite reaction to seeing Dale as she did to seeing him. He couldn't have been more shocked, but he also couldn't have been more delighted.

"Miss Smithers?" He gaped at her, then beamed brilliantly. "My God! You're alive! How-- how is that even possible?" He was pretty certain she had been dead the last time he saw her. The fact that her brain had been removed was fairly indicative. He felt a quick stab of guilt; her death had really been his fault. If only he hadn't led Sylar to her...

Wait, wait. Oh God. She was dead. And Sylar had been stabbed and now he was here. And... Mohinder's eyes widened. "This isn't...?" He had come here by choice, but what if you couldn't get in unless you were dead?

[charlesofdensen.livejournal.com]

[[Dr. Monologue! *howls*]]

"A bit of a complicated answer for the Gryffindor question, don't you think?"

[drmonologue.livejournal.com]

"Is it?" Mohinder looked surprised. "It asked for a rationale. I was trying to provide one. Actually, I'd been worried my answer was too short."

[iknowhowtoqueue.livejournal.com]

"Tea?" Arthur tries not to sound too eager.

[drmonologue.livejournal.com]

Mohinder recognized the signs of a fellow addict and smiled broadly. "Yes. Would you like some? I might have some Earl Grey, also, though I'd have to look."

[carri3-whit3.livejournal.com]

Genetics...D'you know anythaing 'bout telekinesis?

Just, y'know. Curious.

[drmonologue.livejournal.com]

"A bit," Mohinder admitted. "What is it in particular that you want to know?" He knew people had it, of course, and he had some vague ideas with regards to training and usage, but overall his research was still rather sketchy.

[familyman-hrg.livejournal.com]

"Dr. Suresh." Noah was beginning to wonder if there was a slow migration of people he was familiar with to Hogwarts. At least with the exception of Sylar they seemed to be non-malicious, and he supposed he couldn't ask for much more than that.

[drmonologue.livejournal.com]

Mohinder was, of course, entirely unsurprised to see Noah Bennet. He'd already been alerted to his presence by Sylar himself, and it hardly got more surprising than Sylar (or maybe Nathan Petrelli, who Mohinder had been absolutely sure had been blown up).

"Mr. Bennet," he greeted the man with a certain amount of coolness. "How has your family been?"

[sponge-girl-x.livejournal.com]

Oh good, someone who actually knew something about genetics. Maybe this could be the opportunity Rogue was waiting for? "'Scuse me, I think you might be able to help me. These 'special abilities' you're looking for--you wouldn't happen to know any way to turn 'em off for a little while?"

[drmonologue.livejournal.com]

Mohinder instantly adopted an expression of sympathy, though inside he felt just the tiniest spark of triumph. He'd thought of such a thing himself and had, in fact, started work on it, but had been met with disdain by the one person he'd told... granted, that had been Sylar, and therefore really didn't count.

Still, it was nice to hear that he hadn't been wrong, that some people might actually want such a thing. "I've actually been trying to discover a method, yes. I... may have made a breakthrough, recently." His sister's disease had been surprisingly useful, there.

[mini-gps.livejournal.com]

Molly grinned. "Mohinder?" she asked, padding over to him almost shyly.

[drmonologue.livejournal.com]

"Molly!" Mohinder brightened instantly. It wasn't quite as nice a surprise as it might have been -- Sylar had already ruined the surprise, and the mere fact of the man's continued existence put something of a damper on the reunion -- but it was still very good to see her alive and well. He crouched to eye-level, treating her to a huge, brilliant smile. "I'm so glad to see you."

[the-office-pam.livejournal.com]

After reading Mohinder's application, Pam approached him and, absently re-tucking her long bangs behind one ear, said with a frienly smile, "Hi! Um, this might sound like sort of a strange question, but I was wondering if there's also an Egyptian god of beets and sex. Or just beets. Either one would work."

[drmonologue.livejournal.com]

That was quite possibly the strangest question Mohinder had ever been asked. He gave her an extremely curious look. "Not so far as I'm aware, I'm sorry..." He smiled, a little sheepishly. "The only reason I know about Min is that I read it in a trivia book once on a plane." You picked up these things when you travelled, it seemed.

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

While scientists had toyed with the concept of evolution since antiquity, the truly seminal work on the concept, the work that formed the modern understanding of evolution, postdated Stephen by a fair few decades (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution#History_of_evolutionary_thought). He had read the intervening thought on the subject with great interest, believing it to offer potential insight into the oviparous nature of evil clowns. The prospect of endless long boring talks with an expert on the subject delighted him.

It delighted him so much that after being forced by his mun he overcame the wincing induced by the applicant's discourse on threesomes, and made his way over to say hello.

"Dr Maturin, potions master here," he said, bowing slightly. "It is a pleasure to meet a fellow man of science."

[drmonologue.livejournal.com]

"And the same to you, Dr. Maturin," Mohinder replied, instantly delighted. He hadn't had a good academic prattle talk in ages and ages; his colleagues back at Chennai thought he was a kook now, and the only people he'd really gotten to know at all since his departure were a now-dead woman, the madman who had killed his father, and... Peter Petrelli, who was rather difficult to classify.

"My name is Dr. Suresh." He held out his hand to shake. "Mohinder Suresh. If you don't mind my asking, what is it that a potions master does?"

[soopernathan.livejournal.com]

Christ, just how many people from his fandom back home were going to show up here? "Dr. Suresh," Nathan commented, a bit curtly, hands easing into the pockets of his slacks as he greeted Mohinder with a nod. "Didn't... exactly expect to see you here."

Ravenclaw!

[ugly-old-hat.livejournal.com]

(( hat bitchiness pre-discussed w/ Mohinder-mun ))

The Hat yawned. Why even bother today? Had the Hat a telephone it might have considered just phoning the Sorting in.

"Doctor in front of your name. Right. Ravenclaw. Next?"

Which in traditional parlance would be Your bribe has been accepted! Welcome to Ravenclaw!