Let's Do the Time Warp (Again)

[applesaucemod]

It's that time again, but time seems to be a bit muddled. As usual, people from all over the multiverse are being drawn into the Dreaming by the rift. This time, in addition to (or sometimes instead of) picking up the residents of Manhattan, they take them from their home universe but from a different point in time. You may find yourself suddenly encountering a future version of yourself, or perhaps you bump into a friend taken from long before you met them.

Tonight's setting is also time-twisted. You're still in Manhattan, but it seems to be closer to the 1930s. Specifically, you're in an old hotel. There's the dimly lit lobby, with chairs and tables for relaxed mingling. The bar, where tables are front of a stage, on which a band is playing various hits of the 30s. There's also an outdoor area if you need fresh air. Or you could explore the hotel, but it's mostly corridors, unless you stumble upon an unlocked room.



[Mod note: Usual dream-party rules apply. Both members and non-members are welcome to use any character, be they already in the game or no.

For game-specific characters, you can choose whether or not they will remember their time in Manhattan if they're taken from the future. You can take your character from multiple different points in time, if you want.]

Comments

[fucking_ebay]

"What the fuck is that thing?!" Now that it's out of sight thanks to the counter, Peter is doubting what he saw. It wasn't really a gigantic lizard with razors for teeth. He's tired and the lights are low, it was something else entirely. He's not so sure of that, though, that he's willing to come closer and look over the counter again.

[jennifer_strange]

"Quarkbeast," she repeats, annunciating the word a bit more clearly. "Honestly, there's no need to be so skittish. It hardly ever bites people, and then only to the bone." After a beat, she adds, "That was a joke, by the way."

[fucking_ebay]

"There's no such thing!" snaps Peter, refusing to be scared. Or refusing to acknowledge that he's terrified, at any rate. "Get the fuck out of here, you can't have your -- your thing in a hotel!"

[jennifer_strange]

... That's a reaction she hasn't gotten before. Plenty of people are unfamiliar with Quarkbeasts, but it takes a special sort of madness to deny their existence - especially inside five seconds of seeing one. Jennifer's brow furrows.

"You don't have the authority to throw me out," she points out. "You don't work here."

[fucking_ebay]

"Neither do you!" That sounds reasonable to Peter. He can throw her out because neither of them work here and death-lizards seriously ugly little dogs generally aren't allowed in these sorts of places.

[jennifer_strange]

What is that even supposed to mean? Jennifer rolls her eyes, resolving to go and look for the owner elsewhere. Once she finds them, she can inform them of this little git behind the counter.

The Quarkbeast, meanwhile, is intrigued enough by Peter's shouting to waddle beneath the little swinging door that separates the area behind the desk from the rest of the lobby. "Quark?" it says inquiringly, blinking at the boy with intelligent, mauve eyes.

[fucking_ebay]

If she's leaving, that suits him just fine. Except then there's movement down on the floor, and --

"FUCK!" That'll be Peter discovering the presence of the Quarkbeast. Panicking, he grabs the nearest thing to hand and lobs it at the beast's face. Unfortunately for him, the closest thing to hand turns out to be a couple of keys off the pegs.

[jennifer_strange]

"Quark!" In an alarming flash of teeth, the beast catches the keys in its mouth and crunches them down, tail wagging in pleasure at the offering. Few people are nice enough to give it treats upon first meeting.

"Don't feed him; you'll only encourage him to pester you," Jennifer advises, casually leaning against the counter so she can watch the action. She could call the beast off, but Peter's been a prat. More to the point, she's not sure the beast would listen if it thinks more keys are forthcoming. Apparently, it does: it steps forward and glances hopefully from Peter's face to the wall of keys again.

[fucking_ebay]

An older Peter would probably poof over what just happened. This one, however, only has his own two legs to help him flee. He lets out a strangled sound, throws another handful of keys despite her warning, and turns to scramble up onto the counter like a treed cat.

[jennifer_strange]

"Stop that," Jennifer says sternly, scowling up at Peter. "The beast hasn't hurt you - hasn't even tried, despite the fact you're chucking keys at it. I know twelve-year-olds who put up far less fuss when they first met him."

The Quarkbeast, meanwhile, shuts its eyes as a few keys bounce off its head. Once they've landed on the floor, it opens its eyes and commences gobbling them up. With a sigh of resignation, Jennifer adds 'replace keys' to her list. She'll have to apologize to the owner for this.

[fucking_ebay]

"It's a fucking chainsaw with legs!" retorts Peter, not giving up his perch on the counter. He crouches there, ready to spring into fail-tastic action at any moment.

[jennifer_strange]

"True," Jennifer allows. "But it still hasn't hurt you."

To the beast, she adds, "Come on out from there." After snuffling around to make sure it hasn't missed any fallen keys, the beast complies.

[fucking_ebay]

"It hasn't had the chance yet," he replies, slightly less hysterical now. He's still not coming down, though, not when that thing is scuttling around on the floor. "What the fuck is it?" he demands stridently once more.

[jennifer_strange]

"It's a Quarkbeast, as I've said. Twice." She flips the notepad shut and stuffs it back into her pocket. "And it only eats dog food, various metals, and the occasional bunny. Not people. Look." Crouching, she runs a hand along the beast's side. The Quarkbeast gives a pleased little shiver, tail wagging.

[fucking_ebay]

"Shit," breathes Peter, watching. How is it not eating her hand off? Tearing his eyes away to look at her, he asks almost calmly, "What the fuck's a Quarkbeast?"

[jennifer_strange]

It's a good question, and not one she can really answer in depth. It's also a strange question: doesn't everyone know about Quarkbeasts? "They're one of the creatures created by the Mighty Shandar," she says, as if explaining that the sky is blue. "They're magic."

[fucking_ebay]

Peter gives her the blankest of blank looks. "If you don't want to tell me, just fucking say so," he huffs, offended.

[jennifer_strange]

Has he been living under a rock? She treats him to an incredulous stare of her own, but after a moment's consideration, she shrugs it off. His education isn't her responsibility, and she has more important things to do with her time. "If you've somehow made it this far without even the most rudimentary understanding of magic, that's... impressive," she says, straightening and brushing nonexistent dust off of her pants. "But it's not my problem. When I find the owner, I'll be sure to let them know that you were mucking about behind their counter and feeding their keys to my Quarkbeast."

And with that, she turns to take her leave.

[fucking_ebay]

"...Huh?" She's making fun of him, isn't she? Peter glowers, not thinking to wonder how she would even know he's into the occult. "Fuck you!" he squawks. Later, he'll think of all sorts of things he should have said about his expertise and his collection.

[jennifer_strange]

It's probably just as well; his collection and expertise would be foreign enough to her ears that she wouldn't find either very impressive. Besides, everyone knows that vampires aren't real.

Without turning around, she lifts a hand in a sarcastic little wave. Then she lowers it and claps it against her leg, encouraging the Quarkbeast to follow her. The beast glances over its shoulder at Peter, as if to make sure that he's not going to throw any more treats its way, then reluctantly follows.

[fucking_ebay]

"Bitch!" Shaken, Peter remains on the counter until she's gone, both seething with impotent anger and quaking with remembered fear. What the hell even was all that? He finally remembers after she's gone that he really might encounter the owners of this hotel if he sticks around too much longer, and slips off the counter to make his exit.