Sweeter than the First Time [Open to All]

[applesaucemod]

Hello, dreamers of Manhattan. The Rift knows that things have been kind of rough, lately. The last dream didn't go as well as it had hoped. Consider this an apology of sorts, and a hearkening back to the good times you've shared.

It's a grand old (and potentially familiar) cabin house that the dreamers will find themselves wandering. The furniture is plentiful and comfortable, the floors are strewn with cushions and blankets, and there are cheerful fires burning in the grates. It seems a little odd that the house still manages to be on the chilly side despite looking so warm, yet it is.

Oh, well. You'll just have to find another dreamer or two and spoon up and fall asleep like little baby cats get cozy. It shouldn't be difficult; most of the dreamers (excepting those with strong telepathic defenses or deeply ingrained cuddle-averse personalities) will find themselves feeling friendlier than usual, along with an almost overwhelming desire to snuggle up to someone. How convenient that the house seems designed for that very purpose!

And if some of the cushions are Hello Kitty themed, well, that's just coincidence.


[OOC: Standard dream party rules apply. Characters will be affected by the dream-whammy to whatever degree makes the most sense for them, and will remember or forget the events of the dream at the player's discretion. Backtag into infinity.]

Comments

[etherthief]

Oh look, she blushes. That's adorable. She's about to say something else when Greta goes straight for the hijab, straightening and then, uh, feeling it up, apparently. Fair enough, it is pretty comfortable.

Iman puts up with this easily for a few moments, smiling, just shy of a smirk. "Thank you," she says. "It's called a hijab, actually." She tilts her head, wondering if she should go for the way-too-easy turnaround compliment ('no u', basically) or wait for a better opportunity. Her gut tells her waiting would be better so she just goes on smiling.

[andhiswife]

Oh. Perhaps she should stop touching it. Greta draws back, a little embarrassed, but then repeats, "Hijab?" That's a new one.

[etherthief]

Holy damn she is so cute. Iman has a hard time not getting too familiar in her leaning - some friendly, platonic cuddling, that's all, shifting a bit so everyone's comfier, yes that's nice.

"It's a thing from my culture," she says with a slight and practiced air of 'eh who cares'. "Culture-slash-religion. Headcovering, for modesty in the eyes of God." She waves a hand. "I'm a lax Muslim, I don't really observe per se. I just got used to wearing it when I was a kid. And it's kind of an identity statement, if that makes sense." She quirks an eyebrow at Greta. "Does that make sense? I mean, your universe could be super different for all I know, so - don't wanna assume anything."

[andhiswife]

"Oh, I see." Probably rude of her to have gone and messed with it, then, though Iman doesn't seem to mind. She tries to file the terms away - 'hijab,' 'Muslim,' shouldn't be too difficult to remember, right? - and nods dutifully. "I've never--I suppose we might have such things in my universe, but most of us don't travel much. It's…" there's definitely a term for it. "I think you'd call it 'medieval'?" she hazards, brow furrowed, waiting for outside confirmation.

[etherthief]

Whaaaaat. Iman sits up a little straighter, looking both startled and fascinated, she hopes not unnervingly. "No shit?" slips out before she can restrain herself. "That's - I mean, that's incredible. This must be kinda hard for you then, huh?" Shit, has she been vaccinated? She probably needs all kinds of medical care. It's easier than it usually would be not to think of her as a test subject - even in a compassionate, concerned sort of way, still kind of a test subject - she doesn't really want to focus on all that stuff. Nothing she can do about it right now anyway, yeah?

Still, though, what a mindfuck this must be. Her half-hearted desire to make the cuddles less platonic fizzles right out, replaced with a more pragmatic desire to make Greta feel at home. Poor lost duck. Impulsively, she reaches out and gives her hair a little stroke.

[andhiswife]

She thinks she's been managing quite well, all things considered. The city hasn't lost its strangeness, and the technology might as well be magic, but she's surviving. She's even managed to help another new arrival - that's been something.

But having someone else acknowledge the difficulty seems to throw it into sharp relief, and then Iman strokes her hair - a gesture, a care that Greta's far more accustomed to giving than receiving - and suddenly there's a lump in her throat. Oh, dear. This is so embarrassing.

Greta drops her forehead down onto Iman's shoulder with a groan. "It is," she agrees with quiet, mortified vehemence.

[etherthief]

Oh no, darling. Iman winces in sympathy and puts her other arm around Greta, hugging her gently and stroking her back.

"I'm sorry," she says. "I can't even imagine." She settles her head down on top of the other woman's, resting on her cheek. "But it's gonna be okay. Lots of people here who can help. And the future is pretty great, I think you'll find."

It's a small comfort, she knows, but it's something. And nobody should be sad here! She gives Greta a little pat.

[andhiswife]

The difficulties she's had in adjusting to all this are due to far more than a jarring leap through time. But Greta doesn't want to unload all of her sorrows on some unsuspecting stranger. The kindness Iman has shown her already is enough, and this doesn't seem the time or place for indulging in self-pity.

None of that means she can't enjoy a hug, though. Greta wraps her arms loosely around Iman's waist and sighs. "Everyone has been very kind," she acknowledges once she trusts herself to speak without her voice quavering. "And ROMAC's been helpful; they've given me a place to stay, and one of those odd little 'phone' things." And that princely stipend, which she's still rather awed by.

[etherthief]

"ROMAC, huh?" says Iman with the slightest arch of an eyebrow. Won't do to put her on the alert so soon in her time here, especially if she's just one of ROMAC's many innocent registrants - probably not someone they'd be dangerously interest in - so she keeps her tone light. "That's good. I'm with them too, so maybe we'll see each other again when we're awake." She pats Greta's head soothingly. "I don't live there, but I'm at the Base often enough for work. Are you at the Base or the apartments?"

[andhiswife]

Greta lets out a pleasantly surprised little hum. "You're with them, too?" She considers pulling back to look at Iman properly, but elects to remain where she is, just tightening her hug a little. Maybe if she stays put, Iman will keep petting her hair; that feels lovely. "I live in the Tower--or the Base, I suppose." Seems a funny name for it, given what a large chunk of the base is missing.

"It would be nice to see you," she adds, sounding just a little wistful. The number of people she actually knows out in the waking world is a good deal shorter than the number she's met in dreams like this.

[etherthief]

Iman does continue petting Greta's hair, thoroughly enjoying it - she's so sweet and innocent, poor thing, wouldn't do to flirt with her, but she's lovely for casual affection, of which Iman is all in favor.

"Then we'll make it happen," says Iman brightly. "I'm good at that, you know. Making things happen. It's what I do. I'm a scientist."

Is there a faintly manic gleam in her eyes when she says this? Of course not, that would be silly. But can you imagine.

"What do you do?" she says, tilting her head back down. "Other than make delicious cookies." Speaking of - she shifts position just slightly, reaching out to take another one, before settling back and resuming the hair-stroking process.

[andhiswife]

'Scientist' doesn't mean much to her. It sounds impressive, and Greta's been given to understand that it's the 'scientists' who will figure out how the Rift works, if anyone does, but she still only has a vague idea of what scientists actually are. But if Iman says she can make it happen, Greta's happy to take her at her word.

She smiles faintly into the woman's shoulder. "That is what I do," she admits, a little sheepishly. It doesn't seem very impressive compared to being a scientist. "I'm a baker."

Sort of. It would be more accurate to say that she is a baker's wife, but she can't say as much without talking about her husband, and if she starts down that road she really will be a mess.

[etherthief]

"No shit?" says Iman, again before she can catch herself. She should probably not cuss so much around this nice medieval lady, whoops. "That's a noble fuckin profession." (Dammit.) "I wish I could bake. I'm useless in the kitchen. Maybe you can teach me something sometime." She smiles, leaning down slightly to catch the woman's eye. "Or if you want to keep all your secrets to yourself, I'll just have to sample your work."

So she's failing at all her imperatives here. She's a loose cannon. Deal with it.

[andhiswife]

Goodness. Language. But the compliments are appreciated, and Greta feels bolstered enough to finally lift her head and lean back a little. "I could teach you," she says, rather liking the idea. "Anyone can learn to bake." Surely a scientist could pick up on it, with a little instruction.

"Besides, you're the one with all the secrets," she adds, giving Iman a little poke in the ribs. "I expect most of the science you're doing is as good as magic to me."

[etherthief]

Hey now, that tickled. But only a little. Iman grins down at her, charmed but no less wary. Greta is new to a lot of things, the spectrums of human sexuality, romance, and gender probably incuded. This is going to have to be a delicate operation, if it is to become an operation at all.

But the invitation is nice.

"Some people say it's indistinguishable," she says, she thinks rather suavely. "But I'm sure I can teach you a few things too."

Okay, so she's really, really bad at not flirting. Sue her.

[andhiswife]

"I could use help with my phone," Greta admits, obliviously, as she uncurls herself from around Iman. No more moping. But she's in no particular hurry to get up, either, so she shifts to sit more alongside Iman, leaning against her and tucking a companionable arm through hers. "Speaking of things that might as well be magic." And it's so little, and delicate; honestly, she'd be much more willing to mess around with it if it wasn't so breakable.

"What about your world?" she asks, turning to look at her. "Is it very different?" Iman seems to have adjusted well, but that could just be due to time.

[etherthief]

Iman smiles and pats her arm. "I can help with that," she says, perhaps a bit overconfidently. She is definitively not a teacher. But she's enthusiastic!

"It's pretty similar, actually," she says. "Same city, even. I actually... came through on purpose." She grins, a little embarassed. "If you can believe that."

[andhiswife]

"On purpose," Greta repeats without comprehension, as if parroting a foreign language. She ought to ask 'how,' as that's rather more relevant - can she do it again? - but what pops out is, "Why?" Why on earth would anyone voluntarily leave their world behind?

… Well, there are a few reasons she could think of, all involving an extremely unpleasant home life, and she gives her head an appalled little shake. "Sorry. It's none of my business."

[etherthief]

Iman laughs and scoots in a little closer. "It's fine," she says. "It was for an experiment. I wanted to see if I could. That's why I do everything, just about, to see if I can. Of course, the idea was to come through and then go home again. I didn't know about the rift, and that it was going to stop me." She lets out a sigh, only briefly feeling a resurgence of her frustration on this point - mostly, she's over it now, fully invested in finding a new way around it with her new colleagues, so to speak.

"Hopefully I'll figure out a new method," she says. "And if I do, I'm going to help everyone get home again."

[andhiswife]

"Oh." Well, considering what Andrew and the Balladeer used to do - travel through time and space with apparent ease - maybe it's not so surprising that someone might have the ability to travel between worlds just as easily. Or feel confident enough to try it, anyway.

It's Iman's last sentence that gets the strongest reaction. Greta turns toward her, eyes wide, and clasps the other woman's hand. "Really? You'd do that for everyone?"

[etherthief]

"You bet I would." Iman smiles at her astonishment. "I try not to do my work just for me. I want it to impact everyone. Knowing there are so many people trapped here, if I found a way out, I would never keep that to myself." She squeezes Greta's hand comfortingly. "It's going to take a while. I mean we don't even fully understand what we're up against yet. But I'm not going to give up. That is a fact and a promise."

[andhiswife]

Everyone with ROMAC whom Greta has spoken with thusfar has been very careful not to get her hopes up regarding travel back home. She was reassured that people were working on the issue, but also cautioned that it would take time - probably a lot of it. This is the first time she's spoken directly with someone trying to solve the problem, and Iman's evident determination is a great comfort.

"That would be wonderful," Greta enthuses. Obviously this calls for a hug.

[etherthief]

Iman grins and accepts the hug happily, rubbing a hand up and down Greta's back. What an absolute sweetheart. This kind of thing only sharpens her resolve.

"It would be," she agrees. "And it will be. In the meantime-" she pulls away, keeping her hands on Greta's shoulders and looking her in the eye, "-we're going to make sure you enjoy yourself, as much as you can. Can't just sit and wait and hope, that's not good for a person. I'm gonna find you when we're awake and I'm going to teach you everything I can. Okay?"

Another mission! She loves missions. She needs them.

[andhiswife]

Greta smiles, both touched and faintly bewildered by the offer (and, privately, a little doubtful about how much she can enjoy herself in Manhattan… but that's too dark a thought for such a nice place as this). "Thank you," she says, reaching up to cover Iman's hand with her own. "That's so kind!" And she has so little to offer in return, it seems. Well, baking lessons - those shall have to happen.