Movie Night!

[actualwizard]

Who: Anyone who wants to come watch Dinosaur movies
Where: The Movie Theater, Fourth Floor
When: Friday April 8th, 8pm
Rating: PG-13 for Raptors
Summary: Jurassic Park Movie Night
The Story:



As soon as people start showing up in the theater, a gentle song begins playing in the background. They will see the obvious screen on the back wall, but what's more, the seating is surrounded by prehistoric foliage. And in that foliage, stands a hand full of herbivorous dinosaurs. They seem to be grazing on the vegetation without a care in the world. If someone reaches out to touch, the holograms will destabilize as their hand passes right through them only to form back together once the disruption is gone. Even the vegetation seems to be a holographic projection along with the imitated grass floor and night sky. In the four corners of the room, set into the ceiling, are small domes that flicker ever so slightly as they cast and regulate the projections. The occasional T-Rex roar will echo in the background of the music, making the small herd of Parasaurolophus look up with a fright, then lower their heads back down.

The lights dim and the movie begins, the noise surrounding the holograms quiets as to not interrupt from the movies, only to return during the short breaks between films.

If you stray over to the refreshments table, thick brush and tall grass will conceal a deadly pair of raptors lurking. Appropriately themed snacks are set up on the table, including a few sweet treats courtesy of Darcy (including jello shots).

Occasionally, an unwary snacker will come to a fright as one or both of said hunters will pop out of the grass with a sharp, chittering cry. Lucky for the unfortunate victim, the jumpscare is all there is to worry about. The tricky little raptors will slink back down into the grass and lie in wait for their next victim. Don't spill your popcorn, its just an illusion.

You're welcome.

Comments

[uncaging]

She hears the click of the camera, sees the flash of light, and turns her head to find their source, one hand hovering in the space where the dinosaur's head should be. Even from across the room there's no mistaking the image of herself in the square of paper the camera spits out.

"How did you do that?"

[mypartnerintime]

Max stops in the middle of putting the picture away, looking up to notice the other girl talking to her. God, it's too dark to keep the flash off, but that means everyone notices whenever she takes a picture. It's not a big deal, though she's more used to being ignored.

She smiles, a little confused. "Uhh, do what? The flash?"

[uncaging]

"Yes, that and generate the paper. I've never seen anything like it before." Some sort of newfangled box camera, by the looks of it, although Elizabeth couldn't be sure.

[mypartnerintime]

Generate the paper. Max raises her eyebrows slightly at the odd phrasing, more amused than anything else. Then again, Max has her own unusual phrases sometimes. "Oh, you... don't have cameras? Or like... instant cameras?"

She pulls the photo back out of her bag and shows it to the other girl.

[uncaging]

"There are cameras, but they're huge." She raises her hands to illustrate their height. "You have to get under a sheet to take the picture, so it doesn't let any of the light in, and people have to stand there for ages, there's nothing so compact and instant." She takes the picture, squinting closely at it, impressed at how life-like it is compared to the grainy photographs of the 1910s.

[mypartnerintime]

Okay, this girl is definitely vintage herself. Consider Max intrigued.

"Old-school," she says, her tone making it sound like a compliment. She knows enough about photography to guess Elizabeth is from the early 1900's. "Nowadays we even have digital ones, but I like cameras that... 'generate paper.'"

Not to mention that this particular camera has huge sentimental value for her.

She gestures around at the theater. "This must be insanely far-out for you."

[uncaging]

"Far-out?" She repeats the phrase as though it's a foreign language, testing how it sounds on her tongue, but for once getting the general meaning. "Yes, it's all quite amazing! I've seen glimpses of more technologically advanced worlds, of course, but it's another thing entirely to experience all this myself. There's a certain irony in using the technology of the future to bring back the creatures of the past that I rather like." In that case, she'll definitely love the movie.

[mypartnerintime]

"Glimpses of...? You mean like here in Wonderland?" She glances at the holograms. She can appreciate that irony too- maybe it's not the first thing she'd have done if she could make holograms of her own, but it's definitely up there. "Where are you from, anyway?"

[uncaging]

"Yes, and in my own world too." She hands the picture back to Max. "I'm from Earth, a place called Columbia."

[mypartnerintime]

"Columbia like... D.C.?" Max takes the picture and stuffs it into her bag, but then pauses to ask another question. "Though I think the better question is when you're from."

[uncaging]

"Not exactly." She reflects that she hasn't been asked that before, even though it's a far easier conclusion to jump to than the Columbia she's really from. The second question however is one she's become quite used to answering. "1912. I'm guessing you come from quite a bit later."

[mypartnerintime]

"Wowser. You bet. About a hundred years." A hundred and one to be exact. 2013 might be a little silly in some ways, but Max enjoys it overall, even with all the high school drama.

She holds up her camera. "But this one's from much earlier." The way she says it is almost a brag, because it's hard to get your hands on a vintage beauty like her Polaroid. At least, it's hard in 2013.

"And I'm just from Oregon, by the sea. Where's Columbia?"

[uncaging]

"The distant future, then." Although come to think of it, she'd met quite a few people from around the same time period. It felt odd to her to be the anomaly herself there, when so much about the future world they came from was so strange to her. "Columbia's a city all of its own. It floats above the United States, at least it does in the version of the earth I come from."

[mypartnerintime]

"...Uhh, floats?" She raises her eyebrows. She misunderstood, right? Cities don't float in 1912- heck, they don't even float in 2013!

[uncaging]

"Oh, yes!" It's one of the few things about Columbia that still amazes her despite how jaded she was over the city in general. "It's something called quantum levitation. I read a book on it, but even then I'm not sure I can explain all the finer points of it."

[mypartnerintime]

"...Huh." That's not something she expected or even imagined. "Guess we're from completely different earths." Which by itself raises a ton of questions. Is there a Max in that alternate world? Is she just as dorky and lame?

Speaking of which, she never actually introduced herself. "I'm Max, by the way. No floating cities where I'm from," she adds with a smile.

[uncaging]

"I'd say so. It's amazing the different variables out there, especially when it comes to time periods." Something she was eager to learn more about now that she was here with inhabitants of so many alternate earths, without the uncertainty of having to go through a tear to meet them. "I'm very pleased to meet you Max, I'm Elizabeth."

[mypartnerintime]

"Cool." Here's that awkward moment where Max doesn't know what to do. Wave? Shake hands? Instead she merely widens her smile. "Maybe someday we can trade factoids."

Wow, really, factoids? Max is tempted to sigh at her own attempt at socialization, but restrains herself in time.

[uncaging]

She's been trying to keep track of more modern slang -- she'll have to add that one to the list. "That would be wonderful. It would be nice to spend time with people my own age."

[mypartnerintime]

Oh, no Elizabeth! Don't try learning slang from Max! You'll probably get laughed at!

Max looks around at the theater, holograms, and tasty food. "You're definitely in the right place for that. And if you ever need movie advice or something... like if you're bored? You van always just text me."

[uncaging]

"Text?" Elizabeth just blinks at her for a second, then something connects in her mind and she snaps her fingers as she realises. "Oh, sending letters on these!" She waves her communication device in her hand. "Of course, I'll get in touch."

[mypartnerintime]

Max is glad Elizabeth is catching on quick. "Yeah, letters." She smiles at the other girl, waves slightly.

Okay, so she went with waving. Ugh.

"I'll see you around."